MILWAUKEE — A Nashotah, Waukesha County man pleaded guilty to attacking two uniformed U.S. Army servicemen with what turned out to be a paintball gun, before being tackled to the ground by the startled soldiers, prosecutors say.
Ian Alan Olson appeared in federal court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to prohibition on attacks on United States servicemen, according to a statementfrom the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
A plea agreement states that on March 15, Olson drove his car to the U.S. Army Reserve station in Pewaukee. There, he approached two soldiers with what appeared at the time to be a rifle. He then pointed the gun at them and exclaimed, “This is for America," prosecutors state.
Olson fired the weapon at the servicemen - and it turned out he had fired paintballs, officials said. When the paintball gun jammed, the troops tackled Olson to the ground, believing he was holding a real firearm and that he intended to shoot and kill them, according to prosecutors.
Olson faces a maximum of two years behind bars. His sentencing hearing is set for Nov. 18.
