The FBI found what it says was the largest cache of ‘finished explosives’ including pipe bombs that it has ever uncovered and arrested a Virginia man on gun charges.
The record stockpile described in court documents includes 150 explosives discovered in suspect Brad Spafford’s 20-acre farm, where he lives with two young children.
‘Unsecured’ pipe bombs were found in a backpack and a bedroom. Devices mareked as ‘lethal’ were found in a barn on the property. The found the explosives during a search of his property in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, located near Norfolk about three hours from Washington, D.C.
A neighbor who alerted authorities said Spafford would use photographs of President Joe Biden for target practice at a shooting range, and that he blew off three fingers on his right hand while working with a homemade explosive.
The suspect said ‘political assassinations should be brought back.’
Following the first attempt on Donald Trump‘s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, he told the neighbor he ‘hoped the shooter doesn’t miss Kamala,’ according to a report on the documents and a report in the Springfield Times.
The neighbor also said Spafford spouted a bizarre conspiracy theory that ‘missing children in the news had been taken by the federal government to be trained as school shooters.’
Spafford was arrested on charges related to registration of a weapon. Authorities often bring a lesser charge to detain a suspect and then build a case later.
Prosecutors arguing for his continued detention call him an ‘extreme danger to the community,’ in documents reported by Court Watch News.
Suspect Brad Spafford has been arrested on a gun charge after authorities say they found the largest cache of finished explosives ever at his Virginia farm
‘Most of the devices were found in a detached garage, where the FBI also found tools and manufacturing materials, including homemade fuses and pieces of PVC pipe. Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,’ according to the documents.
News of the seizure comes as Washington is on high alert for the January 20 inauguration of Donald Trump, which is designated as a national security event. President Joe Biden will also be there. It also comes just days after FBI Director Chris Wray announced his decision to step down before the end of his term, after Trump announced plans to install loyalist Kash Patel in his post.
Congress is set to meet to count the electoral votes on January 6, on the anniversary of the date four years ago when a violent mob battled police officers and breached the Capitol.
The record stockpile described in court documents includes 150 explosives discovered in suspect Brad Spafford’s home
The FBI assessed it was the largest seizure of ‘finished explosive devices’ it has uncovered
The cache was ‘preliminarily assessed as the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history,’ according to the court documents.
Investigators also uncovered a charge of the explosive HMTD marked ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Do Not Touch.’ The explosive, stored in the suspect’s freezer, ‘is so unstable it can be exploded merely as a result of friction of temperature changes,’ according to the court papers.
A notebook included ‘recipes’ for explosives.
Spafford was charged December 10th. The probe began when a confidential source ‘who was the defendant’s neighbor and friend, reported that the defendant disfigured his hand in 2021 while working with a homemade explosive device, and was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition.’
‘The defendant has used pictures of the President for target practice, expressed support for political assassinations, and recently sought qualifications in sniper-rifle shooting at a local range,’ the papers said.
‘There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical,’ his lawyers wrote in their own filing seeking his release. He has ‘no criminal record and no history of substance abuse or mental illness,’ they argued.
