A federal judge has ruled that a Virginia man, who is accused of stockpiling the largest quantity of finished explosives in FBI history and using President Joe Biden’s photo for target practice, must remain in jail until his trial. The judge emphasized that the man has demonstrated a capacity for extreme danger.
Brad Spafford, a 36-year-old man, is currently in custody on a federal firearms charge. The charge against him is related to the possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle. Prosecutors have indicated that there may be additional charges regarding the explosives discovered, which include devices found in a backpack labeled “#nolivesmatter.”
According to court documents, Spafford, a father of two young daughters, had stored a highly unstable explosive material in his garage freezer alongside “Hot Pockets and frozen corn on the cob.”
U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen in Norfolk made a ruling on Tuesday, acknowledging that Spafford’s defense attorneys have not disputed the fact that he lost three fingers in a 2021 accident involving homemade explosives.
“Mr. Spafford has specifically stated that he does not believe in Government regulation when it comes to firearms, and he intentionally flouted the requirements for registration of short-barrel rifles,” Allen wrote. “The Court is not confident that Mr. Spafford would be any more respectful of the imposed conditions of release.”
The defense attorneys contended that there is a lack of evidence substantiating the claim that Spafford was preparing to commit an act of violence. Additionally, they pointed out that Spafford, who is married and holds a stable occupation as a machinist, has a clean record with no prior criminal offenses.
Spafford’s attorneys also raised doubts about the usability of the explosive devices discovered on his property. They pointed out that the devices had to be rigged by professionally trained explosive technicians in order to be detonated.
“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,” his defense lawyers wrote in a recent filing.
According to court filings, prosecutors have revealed that investigators discovered over 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices during a search of Spafford’s residence in Isle of Wight County in December.
According to court documents, the majority of the bombs were discovered in a detached garage, alongside various tools and materials used for making bombs, such as fuses and plastic pipe fragments.
“Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,” in the house he shares with his wife and children, prosecutors also wrote.
According to court documents, the investigation into Spafford began in 2023 after an informant informed authorities about his stockpiling of weapons and ammunition. The informant, who was a friend and member of law enforcement, revealed that Spafford was using pictures of the president for target practice and expressed his belief that political assassinations should be reinstated, as stated by prosecutors.
On December 17, a thorough search of the property was conducted by law enforcement officers and bomb technicians. During the search, they discovered a rifle and several explosive devices. Some of these devices were labeled as “lethal” and were found loaded into a wearable vest. According to court documents, due to safety concerns, most of the devices were detonated on-site by technicians. However, a few were preserved for further analysis.
During a recent hearing, federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard made the decision to allow Spafford to be placed under house arrest at his mother’s residence. However, he also agreed to keep him detained until the government provides additional arguments.
The prosecutors acknowledged that Spafford has not been involved in any apparent acts of violence.
They argued that Spafford has shown interest in the same by manufacturing pipe bombs labeled as ‘lethal,’ possessing riot gear and a vest filled with pipe bombs, expressing support for political assassinations, using pictures of the President for target practice, and believing that ‘no lives matter.’
According to Allen’s ruling on Tuesday, Spafford’s level of danger to his own family and community was deemed “extreme.” Allen also highlighted the massive scale of the enterprise involved.
“The Court has not found a comparable case in terms of scale,” she wrote, “but even cases involving smaller numbers of destructive devices and other factors that were positive for the defendant have resulted in detention.”
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