Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Werling’s home in early April.
They also searched a building at 804 E. Monument St. in Dayton’s Webster Station neighborhood. Court records from a 2020-21 lawsuit showed that Werling was part of a group that has owned that building, which included a self-storage business.
Werling’s attorney, Jon Paul Rion, said his client failed to properly register two items and this was “likely an oversight.”
“These devices were for defensive purposes in the home,” Rion said. “Dr. Werling has a good reputation in the community. He meant only to protect himself and others if needed.”
Nicholas Dingeldein, an assistant U.S. Attorney with the Southern District of Ohio, said in court on Wednesday that Werling did research on improvised destructive devices and purchased materials to make them.
Dingeldein said law enforcement officials located firearm destructive devices that under federal law would need to be registered with the U.S. Treasury.
Officials said the devices were assembled but not discharged.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors are seeking a sentence of incarceration not to exceed 24 months in prison.
Violations of this federal firearm law normally can carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison, three-years of supervised release (probation) and a $10,000 fine.
Attorney Rion said the plea agreement “contemplates” the possibility of probation.
“It is our hope that his good name in the community and the particular facts of this case would warrant such a resolution,” he said.
Werling has been listed in Premier Health’s provider directory as a proctologist at Advanced Colon Treatment, with locations in Tipp City and Piqua. He is listed as a DO, or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.
Werling was prominently involved in anti-vaccine activism during the COVID pandemic. In 2022, he was one of four people on a committee linked to a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment called “Medical Right to Refuse,” according to documents on the Ohio Attorney General’s website.
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