FBI officials seized over 150 pipe bombs from the house of a Virginia man who used pictures of President Joe Biden as target practice, according to recently released court documents.
The cache, the largest collection of homemade explosives seized by the FBI in its history, was found while investigators were serving a search warrant for an unregistered short-barrel rifle allegedly in possession of the suspect, identified as Brad Spafford. He was arrested on Dec. 17 and charged with possession of an illegal firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act.
Six of the bombs were found in a backpack bearing a patch that read “#nolivesmatter,” possibly referencing a far-right group that encourages its members to commit deadly violence and destroy “societal standards.”
In addition to the explosives, the FBI reportedly found bomb-making materials and tools such as fuses, pieces of PVC pipe and a jar of “HTMD,” a highly explosive material, which was placed in a freezer next to food. They also uncovered written instructions on how to make the explosives.
Spafford had been under investigation since 2023, when a confidential source told authorities that he was stockpiling weapons and ammunition, had injured his hand while building an explosive device and discussed “fortifying” his home with a 50-caliber firearm mounted on a turret. According to the source, Spafford “stated that he believed political assassinations should be brought back, and that missing children in the news had been taken by the federal government to be trained as school shooters,” and that after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July, he said he hoped the shooter wouldn’t miss Kamala Harris.
“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,” prosecutors wrote in support of keeping Spafford under detention.
Defense attorneys argued that Spafford never used the gun that was the subject of the original search warrant and that there was “no evidence” that he ever planned to use the bombs in his house.
“There was no evidence that Mr. Spafford did anything other than make some ill-advised comments about the government and political leaders that are not illegal and are protected by the 1st Amendment,” they wrote in a court filing. “Using a likeness of a political leader as a target at a shooting range is a common practice and not a reason to incarcerate someone. The United States’ position that Mr. Spafford is a danger is rank speculation and fear mongering,”
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