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<\/p>\nShasta County authorities started out investigating a suspected illegal marijuana farm but ended up making a far more unsettling discovery: a massive stash of illegal firearms and a secret underground bunker at the base of a 100-foot tunnel on a MAGA activist’s property.<\/p>\n
Michael Jay Kamfolt, 40, was arrested Jan. 20 after members of the California Highway Patrol discovered the bunker and confiscated an array of illegally possessed weapons \u2014 including three AR-15-style assault rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition \u2014 while serving a search warrant at his Anderson home. He was released the following day after posting $50,000 bail, according to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.<\/p>\n
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Among the weapons seized in Anderson, Calif., were a sawed-off shotgun, three AR-15-style assault rifles, one with an obliterated serial number, and two firearms that were reported stolen, one in 2016 and the other in 1978. (California Highway Patrol)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis operation went far beyond an illegal grow,” CHP Northern Division Chief John Pinoli said in a statement. “The combination of a hidden bunker and an alarming cache of illegal firearms and ammunition highlights the threat posed to public safety.”<\/p>\n
The CHP’s investigation is ongoing, and so far a case has not been presented to the Shasta County district attorney’s office for filing consideration, according to a department spokesperson.<\/p>\n
Kamfolt is a well-known conservative activist who has shown up at protests and county Board of Supervisors meetings and repeatedly raised concerns about voting fraud, according to reports from the Shasta Scout<\/a>. Shasta County has become a hotbed for hard-right governance<\/a> and election denialism<\/a> in the Trump era of American politics, and a staunchly conservative majority took control of the county board in 2022.<\/p>\n Read more: This red California county roiled by a far-right insurgency braces for more trouble as election nears<\/a><\/p>\n Kamfolt is a strong advocate of Kevin Crye, a county supervisor and supporter of President Trump’s “Make America Great Again,” or MAGA, movement. Kamfolt described himself as a \u201cgood friend\u201d of Crye who would \u201cdo anything to help him out,” while confronting protesters outside Crye’s business in May 2025, according to the Shasta Scout<\/a>.<\/p>\n Crye is a pro-Trump election denier and survived a recall effort<\/a> by just 50 votes in March 2024. The effort was launched after he led a successful effort to have the county ditch Dominion voting machines<\/a> in favor of hand-counting ballots.<\/p>\n In a Facebook video<\/a> posted the day after Kamfolt’s arrest, Crye said, “It came to my attention today that a supporter and I’ll even say a friend of mine was arrested last night, and my heart is truly broken.”<\/p>\n Crye said he was caught off guard by the news but urged people “not to rush to judgment.” “Remember we are innocent until proven guilty,” he said.<\/p>\n The CHP initially received a tip in December about a suspected illegal marijuana grow on Kamfolt’s property in Anderson, a small city about 10 miles south of Redding.<\/p>\n During a search of a Northern California property, officers discovered an underground bunker accessible through a 100-foot-long culvert. (California Highway Patrol)<\/p>\n Officers then secured a search warrant and conducted a flight over the area. They continued to investigate for a month before searching Kamfolt’s property on Jan. 20, when they discovered the bunker equipped with all the supplies necessary to cultivate marijuana including power, ventilation and a concrete floor with built-in drainage.<\/p>\n Located at the base of a 100-foot water drainage pipe, the sprawling secret cavern also contained a home gym, armchair and television. The wall decor included a Bennington flag, which was among the various historical American flags carried by Trump supporters<\/a> during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n While on the property, officers seized 13 firearms, four soft-body armor vests and 30 high-capacity magazines. Two of the guns were reported stolen, one in 2016 and the other in 1978, according to the CHP.<\/p>\n Kamfolt was arrested on suspicion of an array of misdemeanor and felony weapons-related violations. They include converting a firearm into a machine gun, manufacturing a ghost gun, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of armor penetrating ammunition, authorities said.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/9e07eca02949bb337d8130ab6731f18b.jpeg\"\/)
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