The prosecutors believe it is “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”
US investigators seized over 150 pipe bombs and other homemade explosives from the home of Virginia man Brad Spafford in December, making it potentially the largest seizure of explosive devices in FBI history.
The discovery was made after Spafford’s arrest on a firearms charge when federal agents searched his home. The majority of the explosives were found in a detached garage along with bomb-making materials and tools, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.
In a motion filed on Monday, the prosecutors said, “Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,” in the home he shares with his wife and two young children.
Spafford, a 36-year-old, faces charges of possessing a firearm that violates the National Firearms Act. Law enforcement officials allege that he owned an unregistered short-barrel rifle. Prosecutors mentioned that there are “numerous additional potential charges” against him related to explosives.
In a motion filed on Tuesday, defence attorneys for Spafford argued that there is no evidence to suggest he was planning violent acts, pointing to his clean criminal record and questioning the functionality of the seized explosives.
They also claimed there was no indication Spafford had ever threatened anyone.
The investigation began in 2023 after an informant reported Spafford was stockpiling weapons and ammunition. According to court documents, the informant, a friend of Spafford’s, disclosed that he had disfigured his hand in 2021 while working on homemade explosives, leaving him with only two fingers on his right hand.
The informant also revealed that Spafford was using pictures of President Joe Biden for target practice and expressed support for political assassinations.
On 17 December, numerous law enforcement officers and bomb technicians searched Spafford’s property. They discovered the rifle and explosive devices, some hand-labelled as “lethal” and others loaded into a wearable vest. Most of the devices were detonated on-site due to safety concerns, while several were kept for analysis.
At a hearing Tuesday, the court determined that Spafford could be released into house arrest at his mother’s home but agreed to keep him detained while the government files further arguments.
In response, prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that “while he is not known to have engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly expressed interest in the same, through his manufacture of pope bombs marked ‘lethal,’ his possession of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and use of the pictures of the President for target practice.”
