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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Man suspected of throwing a pipe bomb at The Satanic Temple in
Massachusetts is arrested, prosecutors say
By Rob Frehse and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
Updated:
4:33 AM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
A suspect has been arrested for allegedly throwing a pipe bomb that
headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, where investigators found a
letter addressed, “Dear Satanist” at the scene last week,
prosecutors announced.
Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Oklahoma, was arrested Wednesday
morning and has been charged with using fire or an explosive to damage
a building used in interstate or foreign commerce during the April 8
incident, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts
said.
CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Palmer.
Surveillance cameras captured a person igniting and throwing a pipe
bomb over a fence and onto the covered porch of The Satanic Temple
building at approximately 4:14 a.m., according to an affidavit written
by an FBI agent. The explosive partially detonated and caused minor
fire damage to the exterior of the building, according to the document.
No one was in the building at the time and staff discovered the damage
later that day, according to Salem police.
The makeshift device was constructed using a plastic pipe covered with
taped-on metal nails and filled with what was preliminarily identified
as smokeless gunpowder, the affidavit said.
The surveillance footage also showed the man throwing a small item into
the building’s flower bed, where investigators later found a
handwritten note, the affidavit said.
The note, addressed “Dear Satanist,” references Elohim, a Hebrew
name for God, and appears to allude to an incident of vandalism at the
building last year, the affidavit said.
The letter reads, in part, “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,” according to the affidavit.
About 7 months ago, on September 11, the Satanic Temple headquarters
was vandalized with Bible verses spray painted in white, according to
the affidavit.
Palmer had not been charged in connection with that incident as of
Wednesday.
Investigators also identified a car appearing to belong to Palmer that
was in the area at the time of the incident, as well as a 2018 photo on
the suspect’s Facebook that shows him wearing a tan vest similar to
one worn by the man in the video, prosecutors said.
If found guilty, Palmer faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up
to $250,000, prosecutors said.
Palmer will make an initial appearance in an Oklahoma district court on
Thursday and is expected to appear in federal court in Boston at a
later date, according to prosecutors.
The Satanic Temple’s social media accounts say it’s “the only
federally recognized international (non-theistic) religious Satanic
organization.” Its Salem headquarters are located in a former funeral
parlor, where it maintains an art gallery with a permanent exhibit on
Satanism, witch hunts and moral panic, its . Members also perform
ceremonial events and hold meetings and lectures in the space.
In a news release, Salem police said the headquarters has been the
target of bomb threats and possible hate crimes in the past, including
a June 2022 incident during which a man was arrested on suspicion of
arson, they said.
Earlier this year, a Michigan man also was arrested and charged in his
state with planning to bomb the temple, according to the release.
In on the arrest Wednesday, The Satanic Temple expressed thanks to
police and federal investigators and “profound gratitude to the Salem
community for the outpouring of support we have received during this
challenging period.”
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