Centre County man seen as security threat by government gets prison for ammo possession
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- Ronald W. Hertzog received two years in prison for illegal ammunition possession.
- Authorities found nearly 500 rounds during a 2022 search near a school zone.
- Hertzog plans to appeal a pre-trial ruling tied to his guilty plea in December.
A Centre County man whom the federal government believed to be a national security threat was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for illegally possessing hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Ronald W. Hertzog, 62, of Ferguson Township, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann to three years of supervision once he is released. The judge recommended Hertzog serve his time at a federal prison in Union County.
He’s scheduled to report July 28.
Hertzog pleaded guilty in December to possession of ammunition by a felon. The conditional agreement gives him an opportunity to appeal one of Brann’s pre-trial rulings and, if successful, withdraw his plea.
The government’s latest investigation into the former Penn State computer programmer began in January 2022 after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer intercepted a package that contained two firearm silencers and was addressed to Hertzog.
A February 2022 search of Hertzog’s home — which is catty-corner to Corl Street Elementary School — found nearly 500 rounds of ammunition in his detached garage. No firearms were seized.
Hertzog was unable to posses the ammunition because of a 2002 weapons conviction. Charges filed in that case stemmed from a yearlong investigation into the Pennsylvania Citizens Militia, a small group whose purpose was to “protect their homeland against terrorists and foreign influence, in particular the United Nations.”
After learning of the militia’s preliminary plans to blow up the FBI office in State College, Hertzog was arrested and found in possession of a homemade silencer, machine gun-type weapons, three rifles, a stockpile of ammunition and inert grenades. He pleaded guilty to possession of unregistered firearms and was sentenced to 70 months in prison and three years of supervision.
U.S. Assistant Attorney Luisa Honora Berti said in a memo sent to the judge that Hertzog has a “troubling history of both prohibited weapons possession as well as virulent anti-government sentiment and activity.” She sought a prison sentence of at least 27 months.
Defense lawyer E.J. Rymsza, meanwhile, advocated for Hertzog to be sentenced to probation or house arrest. He argued the crime was trifling, writing in a memo that no compatible firearm was found and possession of ammunition by a felon is not a crime under state law.
Rymsza also pointed to Hertzog’s “wide variety of serious medical conditions,” as well as the sole caregiving he provides his dependent wife of 41 years.
His daughter Trisha Klinger, of Benner Township, said in a letter sent to Brann she was “deeply concerned” about her mother’s condition if Hertzog was incarcerated. He’s set to remain free until the end of July.
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM.