(HorizonPost.com) – An Oklahoma man was arrested last week in connection to a pipe bomb that was thrown at the Salem, Massachusetts headquarters of The Satanic Temple earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.
According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, 49-year-old Sean Patrick Palmer was charged with the use of an explosive device to damage a building.
Palmer was taken into custody on Wednesday, April 17 in Oklahoma and appeared before the US District Court of Western Oklahoma the following day.
Prosecutors accuse Palmer of throwing a pipe bomb at the Satanic Temple headquarters on April 8.
Surveillance footage captured an image of a man in a tactical vest and gloves with his face covered walking up to the building around 4:00 a.m. The man ignited an explosive device made from a length of plastic pipe and threw it at the entrance before running away.
According to authorities, the improvised device, which was covered in metal nails attached with duct tape, only partially detonated leaving minor fire damage. The pipe was filled with smokeless gunpowder. Affixed to the tape outside was a single human hair from which investigators obtained a DNA sample.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, investigators also found a note left in a flower bed near the scene that urged “Dear Satanist” to repent. Palmer allegedly left comments similar to those in the note on his social media.
Additional security footage showed Palmer’s black Volvo driving erratically in the area both before the incident and after, the news release said.
Investigators also confirmed that Palmer made a recent purchase of PVC pipe and an end cap from an Oklahoma home improvement store.
If convicted, Palmer could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
This isn’t the first time the Satanic Temple headquarters has been a target. In January a Michigan man was arrested for plotting a similar attack and was charged with possession of explosives and homemade devices.
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