NORFOLK Va. (WAVY) – A federal court judge accepted a guilty plea from the Smithfield man found to be in possession of what the FBI called its largest homemade explosives seizure ever.
During a hearing Friday in Norfolk Federal Court, Brad K. Spafford admitted to possessing an unregistered short barrel rifle and possessing an unregistered explosive device. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. He is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 18.
Federal agents executed search warrants on Spafford and his properties in December 2024, where they found approximately 155 homemade explosives, primarily pipe bombs.
‘We need to bring back political assassinations’
New documents filed in the case point to potential political motives behind the crimes.
A friend and neighbor of Spafford’s who would end up becoming a confidential informant for the FBI first became concerned about Spafford after he severely injured his hand in July 2021.
“Records obtained from Sentara Obici Hospital showed Spafford was admitted to the emergency room on or about July 31, 2021, with a completely amputated right thumb, partially amputated right middle and index fingers, hearing loss, and scalp lacerations,” reads the statement of facts, which was filed Friday.
Spafford explained to hospital employees he was in an accident involving fireworks.
“The investigation later revealed that Spafford’s injuries resulted from his misfire of a launcher at the rural property of [unnamed family members], in Zuni, Virginia, where Spafford routinely detonated explosives he had made,” the document reads.
In May 2023, the informant noticed that Spafford appeared to be shooting an AR-style rifle with an illegally short barrel. Two months later, in June, the informant overheard a conversation between Spafford and a family member in which he said “we need to bring back political assassinations.” The family member agreed.
“During that conversation, Spafford discussed making Tannerite with a substance that makes it as strong as dynamite, and stated he likes to set it off with homemade blasting caps,” according to the filing. “On another occasion in June 2023, the [informant] was at Spafford’s residence and Spafford showed them thirty-round magazines that he stated he had cleaned with a special solution to remove DNA and fingerprints, and placed the magazines in what Spafford described as a printless bag that does not collect biometrics.”
The next month, Spafford told the informant he was using pictures of then-President Joe Biden as targets at a gun range.
In July 2024, two weeks after the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump near Butler, Pa., Spafford sent a message to the informant reading, “bro I hope the shooter doesn’t miss Kamala.”
“On or about the same day, Spafford also told the [informant] he was pursuing a sniper qualification at the local range,” according to the document.
Later that year, Spafford explained to the informant that he had a short barrel rifle, but didn’t register it because he didn’t “believe in any of that.”
“Spafford also stated he wanted to install a turret for a .50-caliber firearm on the roof of his house with an armored plate in order to have 360-degree coverage,” the documents reads. “The defendant stated ‘they can’t get close enough if I’m mowin’ down on my fifty cal.”
Text messages taken from Spafford’s phone also contained statements referencing politically-motivated violence.
In June 2021, he texted a friend asking when they could “blow stuff up” together. The friend then asked what Spafford was doing for July 4.
“Celebrating America the beautiful with illegal explosives!” he replied, according to court documents. “We can blow up… rioters.”
“In August 2023, [a family member] told the defendant about a meeting of a public school board about a school policy, and the defendant responded, “someone needs to shoot them meetings up,” according to the documents.
The document does not specify which school board meeting, but a month prior, four men were charged for bringing concealed weapons into a Gloucester school board meeting.
In July 2024, a family member texted Spafford, “we never fulfilled our purpose maybe that’s why we’re so unfulfilled,” to which he replied, “We should blow up Congress.”
“During the course of the investigation, no specific plans to implement violence or to distribute the subject devices were discovered,” the statement of facts reads.
‘IEDs… in America?’
When federal investigators executed a search warrant on Spafford’s home in Smithfield they discovered almost all of the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in an unlocked garage that also contained “household items and children’s toys.” One of the explosives was even stored inside of a freezer next to hot pockets, popsicles, and a Go-GURT.
“Some of the IEDs had handwritten identification on them, including ‘lethal’ and ‘concussion.”
Investigators determined there were nine different types of IEDs (as seen in the first photo above). All included an initiation system and an explosive main charge.
“One device, Device #9 with the yellow top, was found to have propellant capabilities consistent with use in a launcher,” according to the documents. “In addition, all devices except Device #6 … contained hardened plastic containers and/or metal or hard plastic sphere that rendered the IEDs capable of causing property damage, personal injury, and/or death, rendering them destructive devices.”
During the raid, Spafford, who was arrested while driving to work, was questioned by investigators about the explosives. He denied possessing or building any, but said he did have fireworks.
He was also asked about whether anything on his property could hurt or injure the agents on scene. When questioned for nearly three hours, he denied that there was anything on his property that could endanger anyone’s safety while investigators searched.
Portions of the conversations taken from the documents are included below.
Asked about improvised explosive devices in particular, he responded, “IEDs… in America?”
As part of his plea agreement, Spafford will have to forfeit all of his firearm and explosives-related assets. A full list of the “chemicals, metals, oxidizers, powders, components and gear” taken from his home is included below.
The Suffolk Police Department, Norfolk Bomb Squad, Virginia State Police, Isle of Wight County Fire Rescue and Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation, along with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Norfolk.