Prosecutors: Man with KKK robe had unregistered machine-gun

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Federal prosecutors say a Mississippi man has pleaded guilty to illegally having an unregistered machine-gun, months after he was arrested and found with other firearms, a methamphetamine pipe and a Ku Klux Klan robe.

Court records show 39-year-old James Christopher Varner of Stringer pleaded guilty Thursday. Sentencing is Jan. 3, and he faces up to 10 years in prison.

A news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for southern Mississippi says Jasper County sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic violence call in January and found an injured woman and several firearms.

The release says when deputies found Varner, they also found additional guns, illegal drugs and the Klan robe. Authorities seized 46 guns, multiple silencers and magazines of ammunition.

Varner’s attorneys could not immediately be reached after court Thursday.