FBI Makes Critical Arrest In Virginia
The FBI confiscated over 150 homemade pipe bombs from a 20-acre property in Virginia last month, marking what prosecutors described as “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”
Brad Spafford, a 36-year-old Norfolk resident, was arrested earlier this month on charges related to unlawful weapons possession, the Post Millennial reported.
The investigation began after a neighbor reported suspicions that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition on his property. Federal agents executed a search warrant in December, uncovering the cache of apparent pipe bombs, which were x-rayed on-site to confirm their nature, according to court filings.
The pipe bombs were discovered inside a backpack stored in a detached garage and had been “preloaded into an apparent wearable vest,” according to CNN. Some of the devices were labeled “lethal.” Court filings also revealed that Spafford lost three fingers on his right hand in 2021 while handling one of his homemade explosive devices.
Spafford was arrested and charged with one count of unlawful firearm possession. Prosecutors requested that the judge deny his release after his attorneys filed a motion seeking it. Court documents reveal that Spafford used photos of President Joe Biden for target practice, voiced support for political assassinations, and recently pursued sniper rifle certification at a local shooting range.
Following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July, Spafford allegedly told a neighbor he hoped a shooter “didn’t miss Kamala Harris,” according to the filings.
Spafford’s attorneys stated that “professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to explode them,” and that the court had no evidence that their client knew how to detonate the devices.
“The government argues that Mr. Spafford should be detained because he poses a danger to the community in spite of the fact that the government has been investigating and carefully watching Mr. Spafford for approximately two years through the use of a confidential human source who was a friend and confidant of Mr. Spafford,” his attorneys wrote in the motion. “During all of that time, there is no evidence or allegation that Mr. Spafford committed or attempted to commit any act of violence.”
Court records indicate that Spafford has no prior criminal history. Authorities alleged that he possessed an unregistered short-barrel rifle, the charge for which he was initially taken into custody. However, prosecutors stated that Spafford could face several additional charges related to the explosive devices, according to the Associated Press.
The arrest coincides with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day terrorist attacks in New Orleans and in front of a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
In New Orleans, a suspect drove a pickup truck into crowds of revelers on Bourbon Street before engaging police officers with a weapon, wounding two of them. Officers shot and killed the suspect, identified as Shamsun-Din Jabbar. Some 15 people were killed in the attack, and more than 30 were injured.
In Las Vegas, meanwhile, a suspect identified as Matthew Livelsberger was killed when the Tesla Cybertruck he had parked in front of the hotel entrance exploded. Authorities have since said that Din Jabbar and Livelsberger were Army veterans who served at the same base. Both also served in Afghanistan in 2009, Newsweek reported.
According to police and other sources, ABC News reported that the truck was rented through the Turo app and picked up on Wednesday morning by people traveling from Colorado to Las Vegas.
A hotel official said that shortly after the driver of the Cybertruck pulled into the valet area, it blew up. So far, the driver is the only person who has died in the incident. Seven others were injured, according to the police. The hotel official added that the truck was in front of the entrance for 15 to 20 seconds before it detonated.