A MAN who allegedly used photos of President Joe Biden as target practice has been arrested after FBI officials uncovered more than 150 homemade explosive devices on his farm.
Federal agents arrested Brad Spafford outside his farm in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 17 after receiving a tip from a concerned neighbor that the suspect had been stockpiling weapons and explosives.
The investigation began early last year when a neighbor reported to investigators that Spafford, 36, had lost three fingers on his right hand in 2021 while working with a homemade explosive device, according to an affidavit viewed by The U.S. Sun.
The neighbor, who had previously served as a law enforcement officer, also said he saw Spafford with a 10-inch short-barrel rifle in 2023.
The suspect also told his neighbor he was making approximately 50 rounds of ammunition per day, prosecutors said.
The neighbor told investigators that Spafford had told him that he and his friends were “preparing for something” that he “would not be able to do alone,” court papers said.
Spafford, who had a NoLivesMatter logo patch on his backpack, believed “presidential assassinations be brought back” and used photos of Joe Biden as target practice at shooting ranges, court documents read.
The Department of Homeland Security defines No Lives Matter as an extremist ideology that promotes violence, criminal activity, and self-harm.
Weeks after the July 13 assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Spafford told the neighbor that he “hoped the shooter doesn’t miss Kamala [Harris].”
When Spafford moved into his Norfolk farm in the fall, the neighbor visited him in October and wore a secret recording device, according to the affidavit.
Spafford was allegedly recorded telling the neighbor his short-barrel rifle was unregistered because “he did not believe in registration.”
The suspect allegedly went on to say that he had various types of explosives on his property and discussed fortifying it with a “360-degree turret” that he planned to mount a 50-caliber rifle, prosecutors said.
“In a conversation with his wife who inquired about the defendant keeping a jar labeled dangerous in the freezer accessible to her and their children, the defendant also stated he had HMTD, which is a highly unstable primary explosive device that does not require the addition of any materials to detonate,” court docs said.
“The defendant also told the CHS [confidential human source] he had ETN, a secondary explosive device.”
When federal agents executed a search warrant on Spafford’s 20-acre farm in early December, they uncovered what officials described as “the largest cache of homemade explosives in its history.”
“The FBI located not only the rifle but a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices, assessed as pipe bombs,” the affidavit read.
“Some of these devices were marked ‘lethal.’ Most of the devices were found in a detached garage, where the FBI also found tools and manufacturing materials, including homemade fuses and pieces of PVC pipe.
“Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured.”
Photo evidence from the search showed federal agents uncovered a jar filled with HMTD in Spafford’s freezer next to packs of Hot Pockets and corn on the cob.
“Agent found this jar found unsecured next to food items with handwritten labeling marking it as ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Do Not Touch,'” prosecutors said.
FBI agents said they also found a notebook in Spafford’s home with a list of bombs and “recipes” for how to make explosives like “HMTD, the military-grade explosive C-4, and grenades.
Spafford appeared in a Norfolk courtroom on Monday after being charged with unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle.
During his near two-hour bond hearing, federal prosecutors described Spafford as an “anti-government extremist” and warned he was a danger to the community.
Larry Woodward, Spafford’s defense attorney, refuted the prosecution’s arguments, saying she had no knowledge of her client making any specific threats to any person or organization.
The defense attorney also argued that Spafford’s neighbor, who reported him to investigators, never personally witnessed her client build or detonate any explosive devices, The Smithfield Times reported.
Federal Judge Lawrence Leonard set Spafford’s bond at $25,000.
The judge agreed to release Spafford into the custody of his mother, where he will be restricted to and be wearing an electronic monitoring device.
Spafford also surrendered his passport.
It’s unclear if federal prosecutors will file additional charges against Spafford for the homemade explosives.
