Peoria police officers arrested a Wickenburg man accused of possessing child sexual abuse material and, in their search, found Nazi paraphernalia, drugs and guns, according to court documents.
Thomas Schumacher, 46, was booked into a Maricopa County jail on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, court records showed. Schumacher served in the Marine Corps, documents said.
Peoria police investigators were assigned to the case in June 2026 by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after the organization began receiving cyber tips in 2024 from a cloud storage service provider, according to court documents.
A probable cause document detailed the graphic sexual abuse material Schumacher had access to plus an IP address connected
to him.
Peoria’s special assignment unit arrested Schumacher around 5 a.m. on Sept. 15, documents said. Police wrote that when officers arrived, he did not comply and attempted to avoid them and go further into the garage of the home.
During their search, officers found multiple handguns, AR-15 rifles and that he was “manufacturing a machine gun and a suppressor,” records showed. Drugs were also found in his home, investigators wrote in the court documents.
Investigators found several items indicating his membership in the Peckerwood Motorcycle Club, including a vest, stickers and his motorcycle. The California-founded motorcycle club is widely considered an outlaw gang that dons White supremacist imagery.
Officers found “various items related to the Nazi Party,” documents said.
Police considered Schumacher a “danger to the community,” because of his access to a large amount of ammunition, guns and prohibited weapons.
A Maricopa County judge ordered him to be held on a $150,000 cash-only bond, according to court records. He was due back in court on Sept. 24.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Guns, Nazi paraphernalia found in Wickenburg child exploitation probe
