Washington: The FBI has discovered the largest stash of explosives in its history during a detention of a Virginia resident, according to court documents.
Brad Spafford was detained on December 17 for storing an unregistered short-barreled rifle, the documents read, adding that during the search at his farm, a stash of explosives was found.
“The FBI found more than 150 apparent explosive devices on the property, preliminarily assessed as the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history. FBI bomb technicians, who x-rayed the devices on scene, assessed them as pipe bombs. The majority were found in a detached garage, organized by color… Some were hand-labeled ‘lethal.’ Some were preloaded into an apparent wearable vest,” prosecutors have said in a motion for detention.
The investigation into Spafford was initiated in 2023 when his neighbor reported to authorities that he stores explosives and has already lost three fingers. The neighbor also said that the detained used photos of US President Joe Biden as target practice at a gun range.
“His release poses an extreme danger to those he lives with, the general community, and also the pretrial officers who will be tasked with periodically inspecting his residence for firearms, including dangerous and unstable explosives,” the motion read.
Spafford’s lawyers appeal for his release before the hearing, citing his personal characteristics as “a hard-working family man with no criminal record.”
