- Federal agents found one of the largest caches of homemade explosives they’ve ever seized when they arrested Brad Spafford in Virginia last month on a firearms charge, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.
- Defense attorneys argued in Tuesday’s motion that authorities did not present evidence that he planned the violence, also pointing out that he has no criminal record.
- Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home Spafford shares with his wife and two young children.
Federal agents have found one of the largest caches of homemade explosives they’ve ever seized arrested a man from Virginia on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.
Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched Brad Spafford’s northwest Norfolk home in December, prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. Prosecutors wrote that this is believed to be “the largest seizure of improvised explosive devices in FBI history.”
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Most of the bombs were found in a detached garage at the Isle of Wight home, along with tools and materials for making bombs including fuses and pieces of plastic pipe, according to court documents. Prosecutors also wrote, “Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in a bedroom of the home, completely unsecured,” in the home he shares with his wife and two young children.
A stash of homemade explosives that federal agents seized when they arrested Brad Spafford in December 2024 was laid out on the table. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia via AP)
Spafford, 36, was charged with possession of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. Police officials say he was in possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. Prosecutors said he faces “numerous additional potential charges” related to the explosives.
Defense attorneys argued in a filing Tuesday that authorities have not presented evidence that he planned the violence, also noting that he has no criminal record. They further question whether the explosive devices were usable because “professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to detonate them.”
Federal agents seized a cache of explosives and other weapons when they arrested Brad Spafford, a Virginia man, on firearms charges in December 2024. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia via AP)
“There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone and it is preposterous to suggest that anyone could be in danger because of his political views and comments,” the defense attorneys wrote.
Messages were left Wednesday seeking further comment from the defense attorneys who signed the motion, Lawrence Woodward and Jerry Swartz.
The rifle seized by federal agents when they arrested Brad Spafford in December 2024 has been measured. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia via AP)
The investigation began in 2023 when an informant told authorities that Spafford was stockpiling guns and ammunition, according to court documents. The informant, a friend, told authorities that Spafford mutilated his hand in 2021 while working on homemade explosives. Prosecutors said he only had two fingers on his right hand. The informant told authorities that Spafford used images of the president, an apparent reference to President Joe Biden, for target practice and that he “believes political murders should be returned,” prosecutors wrote.
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Numerous law enforcement officers and bomb technicians searched the property on December 17th. Agents located a rifle and explosive devices, some of which were hand-marked as “lethal” and some of which were inserted into a body vest, court documents state. Technicians detonated most of the devices on site as they were deemed unsafe for transport, although a few were retained for analysis.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard ruled that Spafford could be released to house arrest at his mother’s home, but agreed to keep him in custody until the government made further arguments.
In response, prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that “while he is not known to have engaged in any overt violence, he has certainly expressed an interest in doing so through his production of ‘lethal’-labeled pipe bombs, his possession of equipment for rioting and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and the use of pictures of the president for target practice.”
