Seattle arrest in attempted Ark. church bombing
FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - A 40-year-old Arkansas man has been arrested in Seattle in connection with an attempted bombing of a polling place at a northwest Arkansas church in June, according to federal authorities.
Deborah Groom, the U.S. attorney for the western judicial district of Arkansas, said Mark Krause was arrested without incident Friday and appeared before a federal judge in Washington. Krause was ordered detained and returned to Arkansas. Court records don't show whether Krause has an attorney or when he might next appear in court.
Court documents indicate Krause was arrested on complaints of attempted use of force against those engaged in federally protected activities and possession of an unregistered firearm.
Authorities found an improvised explosive device inside a 12-ounce soda can at Osage Baptist Church in Osage, Ark., on June 8 and say that the bomb could have killed anyone within 10 to 15 feet of it had it exploded.
In an affidavit filed in federal court, Little Rock-based FBI Special Agent Keith Frutiger said a poll worker noticed the bomb in front of the door of the polling place that morning and picked it up and moved it out of the way before later setting the can on the church secretary's desk. Authorities say 35 people voted at the polling place that day.
The next day, Frutiger said in the affidavit, someone noticed there was wiring on the bottom of the can and contacted authorities, who later determined that the device was powered by several AAA-size batteries that had their skins stripped off of them.
In November, contractors cleaning out a foreclosed Huntsville residence once owned by Krause found printed material that described the making of explosive devices and alerted authorities, who also found books and manuals at the home "related to constructing explosive devices and militia extremism," Frutiger said. Authorities later sorted through debris from the home and found other bomb-making materials, he said.
Deborah Groom, the U.S. attorney for the western judicial district of Arkansas, said Mark Krause was arrested without incident Friday and appeared before a federal judge in Washington. Krause was ordered detained and returned to Arkansas. Court records don't show whether Krause has an attorney or when he might next appear in court.
Court documents indicate Krause was arrested on complaints of attempted use of force against those engaged in federally protected activities and possession of an unregistered firearm.
Authorities found an improvised explosive device inside a 12-ounce soda can at Osage Baptist Church in Osage, Ark., on June 8 and say that the bomb could have killed anyone within 10 to 15 feet of it had it exploded.
In an affidavit filed in federal court, Little Rock-based FBI Special Agent Keith Frutiger said a poll worker noticed the bomb in front of the door of the polling place that morning and picked it up and moved it out of the way before later setting the can on the church secretary's desk. Authorities say 35 people voted at the polling place that day.
The next day, Frutiger said in the affidavit, someone noticed there was wiring on the bottom of the can and contacted authorities, who later determined that the device was powered by several AAA-size batteries that had their skins stripped off of them.
In November, contractors cleaning out a foreclosed Huntsville residence once owned by Krause found printed material that described the making of explosive devices and alerted authorities, who also found books and manuals at the home "related to constructing explosive devices and militia extremism," Frutiger said. Authorities later sorted through debris from the home and found other bomb-making materials, he said.
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