• Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested Brad Spafford in Virginia on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.
• Defense attorneys for argued in a motion Tuesday that authorities haven’t produced evidence that he was planning violence, also noting that he has no criminal record.
• Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home Spafford shares with his wife and two young children.

Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors.

Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home of Brad Spafford northwest of Norfolk in December, the prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. The prosecutors wrote that this is believed to be “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.”

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Most of the bombs were found in a detached garage at the home in Isle of Wight County, along with tools and bomb-making materials including fuses and pieces of plastic pipe, according to court documents. The prosecutors also wrote: “Several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home’s bedroom, completely unsecured,” in the home he shares with his wife and two young children.

Spafford, 36, was charged with possession of a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. Law enforcement officers allege he owned an unregistered short barrel rifle. Prosecutors said that he faces “numerous additional potential charges” related to the explosives.

Defense attorneys argued in a motion Tuesday that authorities haven’t produced evidence that he was planning violence, also noting that he has no criminal record. Further, they question whether the explosive devices were usable because “professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to explode them.”

Federal agents seized a stockpilem of explosives and other weapons when they arrested Brad Spafford, a Virginia man on a firearms charge in Dec. 2024. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia via AP)

“There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical,” the defense lawyers wrote.

Messages were left Wednesday seeking further comment from the defense lawyers who signed the motion, Lawrence Woodward and Jerry Swartz.

A rifle federal agents seized when they arrested Brad Spafford in Dec. 2024 is measured. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia via AP)

The investigation began in 2023 when an informant told authorities that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and ammunition, according to court documents. The informant, a friend, told authorities Spafford had disfigured his hand in 2021 while working on homemade explosives. Prosecutors said he only has two fingers on his right hand. The informant told authorities that Spafford was using pictures of the president, an apparent reference to President Joe Biden, for target practice and that “he believed political assassinations should be brought back,” prosecutors wrote.

Numerous law enforcement officers and bomb technicians searched the property on Dec. 17. The agents located the rifle and the explosive devices, some of which had been hand-labeled as “lethal” and some of which were loaded into a wearable vest, court documents state. Technicians detonated most of the devices on site because they were deemed unsafe to transport, though several were kept for analysis.

At a hearing Tuesday, federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard determined that Spafford could be released into house arrest at his mother’s home but agreed to keep him detained while the government files further arguments.

In response, prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that “while he is not known to have engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly expressed interest in the same, through his manufacture of pipe bombs marked ‘lethal,’ his possession of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and use of the pictures of the President for target practice.”

President Biden sent a message to Americans before the Sugar Bowl between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish kicked off Thursday evening.

Biden’s message was broadcast on ESPN before the College Football Playoff quarterfinal. 

He offered his prayers for the victims in the New Orleans terror attack that left several people dead and dozens more injured.

“Today all of America stands with the people of New Orleans,” Biden said. “We pray for those killed and injured in yesterday’s attack, and we’re grateful to the brave first responders who raced to save lives.”

Biden said he was happy the game was back on after it was moved from Wednesday night to Thursday evening as officials swept the city for explosives after the attack.

“I’m glad the game is back on for today, but I’m not surprised because the spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down. That’s also true of the spirit of America. We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America,” he said.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart before a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Caesars Superdome.  (Amber Searls/Imagn Images)

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“There’s nothing beyond our capacity when we’re doing it together. God bless New Orleans, and God protect our troops.”

Fans flocked to the Superdome earlier in the day in preparation for the game. Authorities opened Bourbon Street hours before the game.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he was going to attend the game.

President Biden exits the stage after formally apologizing for abuses committed against native boarding school students over the past century during a visit to the Gila Crossing Community School Oct. 25, 2024, in Gila River Indian Community. (Imagn)

“Security is going to be tight,” he said in an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “We have all confidence that we’re gonna put this game on. The Superdome is completely secure. Again, the FBI continues to pour resources into the state.”

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Al Qaeda first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 with a car bomb in the underground garage. Americans heard about the attack on the evening news and then went out to McDonald’s for a burger and fries. 

It was like the 911 operator called us and we put them on hold. Less than ten years later, the 9/11 attacks left 3,000 Americans dead.

We can’t make the same mistake. Even with the limited evidence we have so far, we know we have experienced a deadly, major synchronized Islamist terror attack on U.S. soil designed to send a message and inflict as many bloody casualties as possible. There is no reason why they can’t try that or worse again. 

For a lot of reasons, there is cause to believe we have set ourselves up for the next Islamist campaign against America. Here are four.

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First, ISIS and others are back. Biden’s humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan reignited the hope that America really was the paper tiger that Usama Bin Laden claimed we were. He followed that with feckless policies in the Middle East and North Africa that gave both opportunities to rebuild and recruit and fed a global narrative that it was time to rise up and strike again. 

Next, open borders are a death sentence. It doesn’t matter if the Vegas or New Orleans threats crossed over from Mexico or not. Biden has created an unprecedented vulnerability with porous borders and unlimited illegal migration that leaves us more vulnerable today than we were on 9/11. An unprecedented number of individuals on the terrorist watch list have entered the U.S. under the Biden presidency. This administration’s policies have handed the terrorists too many options.  

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Third, we have demobilized our counterterrorism efforts. Pretty much every instrument we established since 9/11 has been diverted, distracted, disabled or dismissed under Biden. We all know Biden’s top priorities for intelligence and law enforcement. They include persecuting his political enemies; protecting his family; investigating misdemeanors committed on January 6; surveilling school board meetings; meeting diversity, equity and climate goals; suppressing free speech; and demonizing conservatives at every opportunity. 

We didn’t just take our eyes off the ball. We walked off the court. 

Finally, Russia, China, and Iran are not our friends. Every round of global terrorism has had some measure of state sponsorship or support. Today, we can expect no different. 

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Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow know that Trump is going to take his heavy hand off the Bible in a few weeks and lay a meaty fist on them. They will be scrambling for underhanded ways to push back. Terrorism will be one of them. In fact, they are already doing this. Russia contracted for terrorist attacks in Germany. China dumped Israel on October 7. Iran has put out hit contracts on Americans. 

We didn’t just take our eyes off the ball. We walked off the court. 

Because of this administration’s weakness, today’s terrorists don’t try to think “outside the box.” They already have more deadly toys than could fit in Santa’s sleigh. The attack in New Orleans demonstrated the use of common and proven terrorist tactics that we have seen plenty of in recent years from Europe to the Middle East to North Africa. The handbook of terrorist tools is tried and proven. We can expect more of the same. 

Today’s terrorists, however, can and are already starting to draw on proven modern battlefield tactics, often using dual-use technology with civilian and military applications that are being innovated in places like Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa. We have already seen, for example, attempted attacks on energy infrastructure and the use of drones. Just like the way car bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) made their way from combat situations to terror attacks, other means to create murder and mayhem could soon be coming to a community near you.

How do we stop them? By using our counterterrorism capabilities the way they were intended—not the knee-jerk response of the Bush years or the measured indifference under Obama, but the sensible, practical, and responsible actions taken during Trump’s first term that took us from lights blinking red to giving ISIS lights out.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JAMES CARAFANO