An activist connected to Antifa has been arrested and charged for detonating an explosive outside the Alabama Attorney General’s Office in February.
Kyle Calvert, a 26-year-old from Irondale, Alabama, was indicted on April 10 on charges of malicious use of an explosive as well as possession of an unregistered device of destruction. Two months ago, he set off a nail bomb outside the Montgomery office of the state’s Attorney General Steve Marshall (R).
Breaking exclusive: Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, the Antifa member suspect arrested over a nail bombing of the Alabama Attorney General's office, is trans nonbinary. Federal prosecutors have requested the court detain Calvert without bond because he is extremely violent and… pic.twitter.com/TjPP5q47SR
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 11, 2024
Calvert is suspected of having “maliciously damaged, and attempted to maliciously damage” Marshall’s office “by means of fire and explosive materials.” The indictment also added that the suspect in custody “knowingly possessed a firearm” that “was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.”
According to detention paperwork from a federal attorney’s office, the makeshift weapon “had the characteristics” of an improvised explosive device (IED) and had been added onto by Calvert, who put “a substantial number of nails” and other shrapnel pieces to it in order to “increase its destructive capability.”
Calvert has also been involved in the vandalism of state buildings, posting stickers in promoting political ideologies like Antifa, anti-police messages and opposing the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency that has been working to manage the massive number of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States.
Security cameras caught a person taping stickers with messages like “support your local antifa” on the doors of the Alabama State Capitol. The suspect was seen leaving the scene of the attorney general’s office before and after the device detonated.
The explosion occurred slightly before four in the morning on Feb. 24, per surveillance footage, which also showed the suspect dressed in dark clothes, goggles and a mask. No damage was discovered until the following Monday morning, on Feb. 26.
Calvert faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted of the charges against him. Per mandatory minimum punishment guidelines, he would spend at least five years in jail.
A statement released by Marshall said that the attorney general and his staff are “breathing a collective sigh of relief” following the arrest of the suspect. While acknowledging that “more information” will come to light as the investigation continues, Marshall added his belief that “this was not a random act of violence.”
