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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday October 15 2017, @04:46PM   Printer-friendly

http://heavy.com/news/2017/10/michael-christopher-estes-asheville-airport-bomber-suspect/

A 46-year-old man is facing federal charges accusing him of leaving a jar filled with explosives at a North Carolina airport as part of a war he pledged to fight on U.S. soil.

Michael Christopher Estes was arrested October 7 and charged with attempted malicious use of explosive materials and unlawful possession of explosive materials in an airport, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.

The improvised explosive device, or IED, was found inside a jar at the Asheville Regional Airport about 7 a.m. on October 6, the FBI said in the complaint. Bomb technicians from the Asheville Police Department rendered the device safe. The baggage claim and lobby area of the airport were evacuated and shut down for about 2 hours. No one was injured.

also at USA Today and The Independent


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  • (Score: 2) by Hyperturtle on Sunday October 15 2017, @07:50PM

    by Hyperturtle (2824) on Sunday October 15 2017, @07:50PM (#582742)

    With a name like Estes, you'd think this was rocket science!

    Humor aside... this is pretty bad. So bad that it is hard to really take seriously that this was going to blow. He probably didn't even try it at home first. You'd think Alaska has enough open land he could light off fireworks and no one would notice. Or grind up toy rocket engines and put them in pvc piping or something... The fact he staged this in the forest near the airport... and didn't get a ride in... this all adds up to 'poor and without anything to lose'.

    It states he is 'retired military'

    He staged it near the airport and walked up. He paid cash for items and used membership/discount cards. That's all pretty bold, considering it didn't work and wouldn't work, I doubt he tested this beforehand and didn't expect it to work. He made it complicated enough to look feasible; using sand and water with an alarm clock wouldn't get him taken seriously even if he got taken in and arrested...

    I am thinking this guy was homeless and believed he had no future. He may have done this just to get arrested and not cause physical harm, and put something that looked legit to everyone else and would pass any immediate sniff tests. If that's the case, then perhaps he has other issues and this was a way of ensuring that he received medical care, food and shelter due to being unable to support himself... or the anticipation of being unable to support himself. There are plenty of people that get themselves arrested so they have a warm place to stay.

    He won't get terrorism charges unless he makes something up to meet the definition, but he probably can be kept safely locked away for a while to come.

    The charges listed in the article seem to reflect that they recognize it was not really a bomb; they state malicious use and possession of explosive materials. They already destroyed the evidence, and if he really wanted to stay in jail, he probably won't argue with them to get lesser charges of some kind if they throw the book at him about it.

     

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