FBI agents have nabbed an Oklahoma man accused of throwing a pipe bomb onto the porch of the Satanic Temple in Salem.
Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, has been charged with using an explosive to cause damage to a building used in interstate or foreign commerce.
Palmer was arrested on Wednesday, and will make an initial appearance in the Western District of Oklahoma. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the feds, cameras outside the Satanic Temple on April 8 showed a man walking toward the building wearing black pants, a black jacket, a black face covering, a tan-colored tactical vest and gloves.
The man is reportedly seen igniting a pipe bomb — a type of improvised explosive device — and then throwing it at the building’s main entrance before running away.
Seconds later, the pipe bomb partially detonated, causing minor fire and related damage to the building’s exterior. The incident happened at around 4:14 a.m.
The pipe bomb appeared to have been constructed from a section of plastic pipe covered with metal nails, which were attached to the pipe with tape.
The inside of the pipe was filled with a powder-like substance, preliminarily identified as smokeless gunpowder. A single human hair was allegedly located on the pipe bomb containing a DNA profile from a white male.
A six-page handwritten note was found in a flower bed next to where the pipe bomb was discovered. Among other things, the letter reportedly stated:
DEAR SATANIST
ELOHIM SEND ME 7 MONTHS AGO TO GIVE YOU
PEACEFUL MESSAGE TO HOPE YOU REPENT. YOU SAY
NO, ELOHIM NOW SEND ME TO SMITE SATAN AND I
HAPPY TO OBEY. AND ELOHIM WANT ME TO CONTACT
YOU TO TELL YOU REPENT. TURN FROM SIN. ELOHIM
NO LIKE THIS PLACE AND PLAN TO DESTROY IT. MAYBE
SALEM TOO? ELOHIM SEND ME TO FIGHT CRYBABY
SATAN, BUT WANT ME TO MAKE HARD EFFORT SO NO
ONE DIES. I OBEY.
Surveillance footage nearby identified a black Volvo sedan, allegedly registered to Palmer, driving erratically both before and after the incident, according to the feds.
Also, a photo of Palmer posted to a social media website shows him wearing a tan-colored tactical vest like the vest worn by the suspect in the surveillance video. Palmer also allegedly comments frequently on a social media website about religious matters and themes similar to those contained in the handwritten note.
Five days before the incident, Palmer allegedly purchased PVC pipe and matching PVC end cap — like the pipe and end cap used to construct the pipe bomb — from a home improvement retailer in Oklahoma.
