Shasta County authorities began by 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.
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 — including three AR-15-style assault rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition — while serving a search warrant at his Anderson home. He is no longer in custody, according to county records.
“This 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.”
Kamfolt is a well-known conservative activist who had shown up at protests and county Board of Supervisors meetings and had repeatedly raised concerns about voting fraud, according to reports from the Shasta Scout. Shasta County has become a hotbed for hard-right governance and election denialism in the Trump era of American politics, and a staunchly conservative majority took control of the county board in 2022.
Kamfolt is a strong advocate of Kevin Crye, a county supervisor and MAGA supporter. Kamfolt described himself as a “good friend” of Crye who would “do anything to help him out,” while confronting protesters outside of Crye’s business in May 2025, according to the Shasta Scout.
Crye is a pro-Trump election denier and survived a recall effort 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 in favor of hand-counting ballots.
In a Facebook video 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.”
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.
The CHP initially received a December tip about a suspected illegal marijuana grow on Kamfolt’s property in Anderson, a small city 10 miles south of Redding.
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 Dec. 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.
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 supporters of President Trump during the Jan. 6 riot.
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.
Kamfolt was arrested on suspicion of an array of misdemeanor and felony weapons-related charges. They include converting a firearm into a machine gun, manufacturing a ghost gun, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of armor penetration ammunition.
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.
Kamfolt was no longer in custody on Monday, according to Shasta County inmate records. The county Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when he was released.
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