By Steve Neavling
Federal prosecutors revealed in a court filing Monday that federal agents arrested a Virginia man last month and uncovered an unprecedented cache of homemade explosives.
The discovery, they said, marked one of the largest such seizures in FBI history, the Associated Press reports.
During a search of Brad Spafford’s Isle of Wight County property in December, investigators found more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade explosive devices. In their motion, prosecutors described the discovery as “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”
The explosives were largely stored in a detached garage on Spafford’s property, surrounded by bomb-making materials like fuses and sections of plastic pipe, according to court records.
“Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,” prosecutors noted. Spafford, 36, lived in the home with his wife and two young children.
Authorities initially charged Spafford with possessing an unregistered short-barrel rifle, a violation of the National Firearms Act. However, prosecutors indicated in their filings that he may face “numerous additional potential charges” linked to the explosives stockpile.
Spafford’s defense lawyers countered in a motion Tuesday, arguing that there is no evidence he intended to harm anyone. They also pointed out that Spafford lacks a criminal record and suggested the explosive devices might not have been functional. “Professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to explode them,” the defense wrote.
“There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone,” the attorneys stated. They added that the notion he posed a danger due to his political beliefs was “nonsensical.”
