SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – Two former military members, Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields, were arrested in Lacey, Washington, after a violent attempted robbery at Joint Base Lewis-McChord involving a hammer assault on a soldier, a cache of stolen military equipment, Nazi paraphernalia, and a stockpile of weapons. The disturbing nature of the case, an ex-military duo armed to the teeth, accused of attacking a soldier and hoarding white supremacist materials, has raised pressing questions about domestic extremism.
Equally concerning is the glaring absence of something routine in cases like this: mugshots.
Why haven’t the public seen the faces of Levi Frakes and Charles Fields?
The Silence Surrounding Armed Veterans with a History of Nazi Ties
These men are not charged with minor infractions. They’re accused of assault with a deadly weapon, theft of government property, and possessing illegal firearms and incendiary devices. Investigators allege that they had been stealing from the military for two years and amassed an arsenal of at least 35 firearms, including short-barreled rifles, an MG42 machine gun, and 3D-printed silencers. Nazi flags and literature adorned their shared home. Yet, their mugshots remain mysteriously absent from public view, even as they sit in Thurston County Jail on $500,000 bail.
When suspects of color are arrested, mugshots and sensational headlines often precede even basic facts. But in this case, two white, former military men allegedly running a weapons training business with Nazi symbols in their logo, the public has been left largely in the dark. This silence begs the question: Why are mugshots so often released in some cases and withheld in others?
The lack of mugshots isn’t the only missing piece. Details about the men’s military service are also hard to come by. While one soldier recognized Fields as a former member of the Ranger Battalion, no comprehensive public record of Frakes’ service has been disclosed. With both men accessing the base as veterans, the public deserves to know more about their history and any red flags the military might have missed.
White Supremacy, Stolen Weapons, and Selective Outrage: Why Isn’t America Paying Attention?
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a random robbery. This was a targeted assault on a U.S. Army installation by former servicemen with a deep inventory of weapons and a cache of extremist propaganda. They weren’t just criminals, they were organized, equipped, and ideologically motivated. They reportedly ran a company called Sovereign Solutions, selling tactical gear and offering marksmanship classes, all branded with SS lightning bolt symbols and shirts reading “Professional War Crime Committer”.
In any other context, especially if these suspects had been Muslim or Black, this would be a national headline about “domestic terrorism.” Instead, it’s been treated as a bizarre local crime story, buried under euphemistic language and missing the visuals that galvanize public outrage.
This isn’t just a story about a robbery gone wrong. It’s about the growing threat of white supremacist extremism in American veteran communities, the porous oversight of stolen military equipment, and a justice system that still seems to apply public transparency selectively.
So again, we must ask:
- Why are there no mugshots of Levi Frakes and Charles Fields?
- Why is their military history still vague?
- And why isn’t this story being treated with the national urgency it deserves?
Until we start asking these questions, and demanding the same transparency and scrutiny regardless of race or political ideology, we remain vulnerable to the exact kind of extremist violence that this case so chillingly illustrates.