Army soldier charged with lying about connection to group dedicated to overthrowing government

A U.S. Army soldier was indicted on federal charges after prosecutors said he lied when he denied having a connection to a group dedicated to overthrowing the government.

Kai Liam Nix was arrested Thursday, one day after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with making a false statement to the government and unlawful firearms trafficking, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina said in a news release Monday.

An indictment alleges that Nix "had been a member of a group dedicated to the use of violence or force to overthrow the United States Government," but falsely stated on his security clearance application in 2022 that he never had ties to such a group.

The indictment and the news release do not name the group.

The 20-year-old soldier, who went by the name Kia Brazelton, is also accused in the indictment of dealing firearms without a license and knowingly possessing and selling stolen firearms.

An attorney for Nix said: "We should avoid rushing to judgment. Mr. Nix looks forward to making his presentation in court."

A spokesperson for the Army said he was an infantryman since Aug. 2022. Nix has no deployments and left the Army in the rank of private this month.

Nix, who was stationed at Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, North Carolina, had his first court appearance on Monday. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.