JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two men who co-founded a militia group were convicted of attempting to assassinate federal agents before a planned trip to the Texas-Mexico border to shoot immigrants crossing there illegally and any federal agents who tried to stop them.

A jury in United States District Court in Jefferson City, Missouri’s state capital, found Jonathan S. O’Dell, 34, of Warshaw, Missouri, and Bryan C. Perry, 39, of Clarksville, Tennessee, guilty of more than 30 felony counts. each, Chief U.S. Attorney for Western Missouri Teresa Moore announced Friday. Thursday’s convictions came after jurors deliberated for more than two hours.

O’Dell’s attorney, Jonathan Truesdale, declined to comment, but Perry’s attorney, Thomas Kirsch, said his client plans to appeal the verdict. Kirsch said Perry is disappointed by the verdict, but said he is grateful for the jurors’ dedication and the opportunity to exercise “their fundamental right” to trial by jury.

“My client has a deep love and passion for our country and the values ​​it stands for and the Constitution, including his right to a jury trial,” Kirsch said.

A sentencing date has not yet been set for either man. Both face at least 10 years in prison and possibly life in prison.

Perry also pleaded guilty to three charges, including escaping from federal custody. Held for trial in a Rolla County, Missouri, jail, he escaped in September 2023, but was captured two days later about 160 miles (258 kilometers) northwest, outside Kansas City, after a high-speed chase.

The two men formed the Second Amendment Militia and then, in the summer and fall of 2022, tried to recruit others to join them, prosecutors said. In September 2022, O’Dell’s home about 100 miles (161 kilometers) away became a staging site as the two men collected firearms, ammunition, paramilitary equipment and other supplies, according to government evidence.

Prosecutors said Perry posted a video on TikTok in September saying his militia group was going to “go protect this country,” and another in early October saying the group would be “hunting.” Prosecutors said the two men viewed U.S. Border Patrol agents as traitors for allowing the migrants to cross into Texas.

The day before they planned to leave for Texas, an FBI team using an armored vehicle served a search warrant at O’Dell’s home, and prosecutors said Perry fired 11 rifle shots at them. O’Dell and his girlfriend surrendered, but after leaving the house, Perry fought with the officers.

The charges against the two men also included use of a firearm in a violent crime, illegal possession of weapons and damage to federal property. Perry couldn’t legally own a gun because he pleaded guilty in Tennessee in 2004 to felony aggravated robbery and served about four years in prison, according to online records.