FBI: Largest homemade explosives cache in agency history found in Virginia
The FBI arrested a Virginia man it says had the largest stockpile of explosives recovered in the agency’s history.
Brad Spafford was arrested earlier this month at his farm outside Norfolk on charges related to failing to register a short barrel rifle, but court documents posted Monday seeking to prevent his release outline broader concerns, including that he had more than 150 explosive devices stored at his home.
The filings outline that Spafford was found to have the devices stored in a barn on his property, including devices marked “lethal.” Pipe bombs were also found in a backpack in a bedroom otherwise completely “unsecured.” The FBI also found “recipes” for making explosives.
Investigators also found hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, which the agency described as “an explosive material that is so unstable it can be exploded merely as a result of friction or temperature changes.”
“Agent found this jar found unsecured next to food items with handwritten labeling marking it as ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Do Not Touch,’” the filing states.
Collectively, the cache was “preliminarily assessed as the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”
The court documents were first reported by Court Watch.
Spafford first came to the attention of authorities through a neighbor who reported the defendant was using a photo of President Biden for target practice, expressed approval for political violence and shared a conspiracy theory that missing children were taken by the federal government to be trained as school shooters.
The neighbor also said Spafford lost three fingers in 2021 while apparently working on an explosive device.
After moving to a new farm, Spafford also told his neighbor he was considering fortifying his property with a 360-degree turret where he could use his firearm and had staged the driveway so he could block cars from entering the property.
The filing also references Spafford's belief in “no lives matter,” an apparent nod to a far-right ideology that primarily coordinates through encrypted apps.
The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness described the ideology as one that “promotes targeted attacks, mass killings, and criminal activity, and has historically encouraged members to engage in self-harm and animal abuse.”
The FBI said the Dec. 17 arrest and search “required complex planning and travel by numerous FBI personnel including bomb technicians.”
The FBI said many of the devices were exploded on site because they were too dangerous to remove.