A Virginia man is in custody after the FBI found a massive collection of explosives in his home — the largest in the agency’s history.
Brad Spafford of Smithfield, Va., was initially charged with having an unregistered rifle in his possession. When investigators carried out a search warrant on his property, they found “a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices, assessed as pipe bombs,” the criminal complaint reads. He was arrested on Dec. 17.
Most of the explosives were found in a garage separate from the house, as well as in a backpack in the bedroom. According to prosecutors, “#nolivesmatter” — an ideology that has historically promoted mass violence, self-harm and animal abuse — was written outside the bag, NBC reported.
Inside Spafford’s freezer, investigators found a jar of HMTD, an explosive so delicate that the “friction of temperature changes” could cause it to explode, the motion read. It was labeled “dangerous” and “do not touch,” and was stored alongside food items.
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In a motion to revoke Spafford’s release, prosecutors stated that he would put his community — as well as his wife and two children — in “extreme danger,” NBC reported.
The motion also stated that the FBI located a notebook in Spafford’s residence that contained “recipes” for explosives and other destructive weapons, including grenades, HMTD and military-grade explosive C-4.
The suspect “expressed support for political assassinations,” used photos of President Joe Biden for target practice and “recently sought qualifications in sniper-rifle shooting at a local range,” prosecutors said, according to NBC.
Spafford — who has no history of criminal activity, mental illness or substance abuse, according to his lawyers — became the subject of investigation after an undisclosed source told law enforcement about Spafford. Spafford had allegedly revealed to the source that he lost three fingers on his right hand while creating an explosive device, the source said.
