A Virginia man was arrested after federal authorities found a cache of homemade explosive devices, some of which were marked as “lethal,” at his home, marking the largest seizure of finished explosive devices in FBI history, officials said.
Authorities took Brad Spafford into custody Dec. 17 at a farm in Smithfield, about 29 miles northwest of Norfolk, and charged him with unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle, according to court filings.
FBI agents found the rifle along with “a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices, assessed as pipe bombs,” during a search of his home, a detention memo says.
“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,” it says. “Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured.”
The phrase “#nolivesmatter” was written outside the backpack, prosecutors said. No Lives Matter follows an extremist ideology and promotes mass killings, criminal activity and targeted attacks and has historically encouraged followers to engage in self-harm or animal abuse, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said.
The memo also states that Spafford lived at the home with two young children.
Spafford allegedly told authorities that he kept in his freezer a jar of an explosive material that is so unstable it can explode as a result of friction of temperature changes, the filing states.
Photos in the court filing showed a jar labeled “Dangerous” and “Do Not Touch” next to what appeared to be Hot Pockets and other food items in the freezer.
Prosecutors said Spafford used images of the president for target practice, “expressed support for political assassinations, and recently sought qualifications in sniper-rifle shooting at a local range.”
They argued that his release poses an “extreme danger” to the people he lives with, the community and “the pretrial officers who will be tasked with periodically inspecting his residence for firearms including dangerous and unstable explosives,” the memo says.
An attorney for Spafford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The investigation into Spafford began last year when a source told authorities that Spafford had disfigured his hand while working with a homemade explosive device, officials said.
The source also said that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition, court documents state.
Spafford allegedly told the source that he makes about 50 rounds of ammunition a day.
