The FBI says it has discovered more than 150 bombs during a raid on a farm in Virginia – thought to be the largest such cache seized by the law-enforcement agency in its history.
Brad Spafford was arrested on 17 December in Isle of Wight County, 180 miles (290km) south of Washington DC, after a tip-off that he was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition on the property he shares with his wife and two young children.
Investigators say some of the devices were found in a bedroom in an unsecured backpack labelled “#nolivesmatter” – an apparent reference to a far-right, anti-government movement.
A lawyer for Mr Stafford denied he is a danger to the community and is seeking his client’s release from pre-trial detention.
The suspect has so far only been charged with possessing an unregistered short-barrelled rifle, though investigators say more charges are likely.
Investigators said on Tuesday that the bombs were “preliminarily assessed as the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history”.
Mr Stafford had allegedly used photos of US President Joe Biden for target practice and expressed hope that Vice-President Kamala Harris would be assassinated.
He had recently sought qualifications in sniper-rifle shooting at a local range, according to the court papers.
The charging document says an unnamed neighbour reported that Mr Stafford had continued to build bombs even after losing three fingers on his right hand in 2021 “while working with a homemade explosive device”.
The neighbour, who used to work in law enforcement, wore a recording device during a visit to Mr Stafford’s 20-acre farm earlier this year, investigators say.
The evidence gathered by the neighbour led FBI agents to search the property, where they found explosives scattered around a home, according to the charging document.
An initial FBI assessment found the devices to be “pipe bombs”. The majority were in a detached garage, and were sorted by colour. Some were labelled “lethal”.
Several bombs were found loaded into a wearable vest, said the court papers.
More bombs “were found completely unsecured in a backpack” in the home. The exterior of the backpack was labelled “#nolivesmatter”, said the court papers.
Nolivesmatter is a movement that promotes extremist ideology, targeted attacks, mass killings, and criminal activity, and has encouraged members to engage in self-harm and animal abuse, according to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
In addition to the pipe bombs, investigators say they found a jar of a highly volatile explosive called HMTD, which the FBI notes is so unstable it can be exploded merely by a temperature change and does not require a detonator to explode.
The jar of HMTD was labelled “Dangerous” and “Do Not Touch”, and was being stored in a freezer next to food that was accessible to the children, according to the court papers.
The neighbour also told investigators that Mr Stafford had discussed fortifying the property with a turret for a 50-calibre firearm on the roof.
Mr Stafford, who worked at a machine shop, had also said that missing children in the news had been taken by the federal government to be trained as school shooters, according to the court papers.
A lawyer for Mr Stafford said on Tuesday that the government’s claim he was dangerous was “rank speculation and fear mongering”, because the suspect had no criminal record.
“There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr Spafford ever threatened anyone and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical,” the lawyer wrote.
The federal judge overseeing the case ordered that Mr Spafford be released with electronic monitoring.
However, that decision is on hold as the government seeks to keep the suspect in pre-trial detention.
