The man accused of robbing a Wisconsin gun shop and mailing a manifesto to President Donald Trump was captured Friday after a 10-day manhunt, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joseph A. Jakubowski, 32, was apprehended before 6 a.m. Friday at a campsite in Vernon County, Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said.
He was taken into custody without incident and is in the process of being returned to Rock County for further investigation and charges.
During the manhunt, police charged Jakubowski with three felonies: burglary to arm himself with a dangerous weapon, theft and possession of burglarious tools, according to a criminal complaint.
The odyssey began April 4 in Janesville, Wisconsin, 70 miles southwest of Milwaukee, where the fugitive allegedly stole arms from a gun shop.
He then abandoned his car, which was found ablaze a short while later on a nearby street.
The same day he was accused of stealing guns, Jakubowski sent a 161-page manifesto to the White House and left behind a video showing himself mailing it, according to Cmdr. Troy Knudson.
Anti-government and anti-religion manifesto
In a portion of the manifesto obtained by CNN affiliate WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, Jakubowski purportedly described the government as a “gang of terrorists.”
(Jakubowski, who they say robbed a gun store and is threatening an unspecified attack. He also mailed a 161-page manifesto to President Trump. Courtesy of CNN and YouTube)
He said he stole the guns because the system has “stolen my natural right to protect and defend life,” WTMJ reported.
“Priests and churches control the presidents and the banks … ,” he wrote, according to the affiliate. He also described health insurance and taxes as a way for the government to brainwash its citizens.
CNN has sought to verify the authenticity of the manifesto and get more details from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office but hasn’t heard back from the lead local agency in the investigation.
A law enforcement official close to the investigation confirmed the portion of manifesto as authentic, according to the affiliate.
Investigators said they analyzed the manifesto and discovered grievances focusing on several topics but no specific threat to any group.
“There were two themes in the manifesto,” Janesville police Chief David Moore said.
“He was anti-government, and he certainly had his concerns on the federal government and (was) anti-religion. Those seem to be the two strongest themes.”
More than 150 officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies took part in the manhunt.
(A fugitive from Janesville that sparked a nationwide manhunt has been taken into custody in western Wisconsin. Courtesy of WISN 12 News and YouTube)
Donald McLean, Jakubowski’s stepfather, said the two are estranged and haven’t talked for two years. But the suspect has not been a fan of authority, especially police officers, since age 17, he said.
“He just generally started hating society, hating police, hating the government, hating rules, regulations, controls, limits,” McLean said.
CNN’s Peter Morris and Jeanne Bonner contributed to this report.
