FBI finds 150 homemade bombs at Virginia home: court filing

FFederal agents found one of the largest caches of homemade explosives they’ve ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing from federal prosecutors.

Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched Brad Spafford’s northwest Norfolk home in December, prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. Prosecutors wrote that it was “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”

Most of the bombs were found in a detached garage at the home in Isle of Wight County, along with bomb-making tools and materials including fuses and pieces of plastic pipe, according to court documents. Prosecutors also wrote: “Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a bag in the bedroom of the house, completely unsecured,” in the house he shares with his wife and two children.

Spafford, 36, was charged with possession of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. Law enforcement officials say he was in possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. Prosecutors said he faces “numerous additional potential charges” related to the explosives.

Defense attorneys argued in a motion Tuesday that authorities have not proven evidence that he planned the violence, also noting that he has no criminal record. In addition, they question whether the explosive devices were usable because “professionally trained explosive technicians had to handle the devices to detonate them.”

“There is not one shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford has ever threatened anyone and the contention that anyone could be in danger because of his political views and comments is nonsensical,” the attorneys said. of the defense they wrote.

Messages were left Wednesday seeking further comment from the defense attorneys who signed the motion, Lawrence Woodward and Jerry Swartz.

The investigation began in 2023 when an informant told authorities that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and ammunition, according to court documents. The informant, a friend, told authorities that Spafford disfigured his hand in 2021 while working on homemade explosives. Prosecutors said he only had two fingers on his right hand. The informant told authorities that Spafford was using pictures of the president, an apparent reference to President Joe Biden, for target practice and that he “believed that political killings should be reported,” prosecutors wrote. .

Numerous law enforcement officers and bomb technicians searched the property on December 17th. Agents located the gun and explosive devices, some of which had been hand-labeled as “lethal” and some of which had been loaded into a vest, court documents state. state Technicians detonated most of the devices at the site because they were deemed unsafe for transport, although many were kept for analysis.

In a hearing Tuesday, federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard determined that Spafford could be released under house arrest at his mother’s home, but agreed to keep him incarcerated while the government presents other arguments.

In response, prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that “if he is not known to be engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly shown an interest in it, through his manufacture of papal bombs marked “lethal “, his possession. of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and the use of the President’s portraits for the practice of target”.