The FBI had ‘preliminarily assessed that it was ’the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history,’ officials say.
The FBI arrested a Virginia man who was found to have the largest cache of explosives in the bureau’s history, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday.
In a motion for detention, federal prosecutors argued Brad Kenneth Spafford “poses an extreme danger to the community, which cannot be sufficiently mitigated by bond conditions.”
“During the execution of a search warrant at his home earlier this month, where the defendant lived with two young children, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located not only the rifle but a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices, assessed as pipe bombs,” prosecutors with the Department of Justice (DOJ) wrote in the court documents, which were submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“Some of these devices were marked ‘lethal.’ 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.”
The FBI made a preliminary assessment that it was “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history,” the court papers said, adding that bomb squad technicians X-rayed the devices and found that they were pipe bombs.
Spafford has been charged with a single count of failing to register a short-barrel rifle, a violation of the National Firearms Act.
Earlier in December, an FBI official, in a sworn affidavit, said that explosives were located on Spafford’s property. However, the extent of the number of devices that were allegedly found was not disclosed until the motion for detention was filed.
On Monday, a detective had testified in court in Virginia that Spafford had allegedly expressed aspirations to “bring back political assassination” and had a photograph of President Joe Biden that he used as target practice, according to The Smithfield Times.
