Authorities Arrest Man in Colorado Springs Bombing, Say NAACP Office Was Not Target
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iStock/Thinkstock(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — Authorities took a 44-year-old man into custody on Thursday in connection with a January 6 explosion outside multiple businesses in Colorado Springs, including the local NAACP chapter.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado announced Friday that Thaddeus Murphy had been arrested on Thursday night. The 44-year-old was interviewed by federal law enforcement, and according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he “stated that the target of his criminal actions was not the NAACP, but that he had a different motive.”
Police and a bomb squad responded to the incident in which a road flare and a pipe bomb were found near a container of gasoline. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that “the device was lit, causing an explosion” but that “the gasoline did not ignite.” The only damage was charring to the building and the sidewalk.
An investigation into the incident led police to Murphy, who has prior felony convictions. According to the criminal complaint, he faces one count of arson and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.
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