National
Suspect in Blast Near NAACP Office: Target was Accountant
Sadie Gurman and Nicholas Riccardi, ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The man accused of setting off a small explosion last month that rattled nerves because of its proximity to a Colorado NAACP office says he was in a rage over his financial problems and was actually targeting his accountant, according to court documents filed Friday.
Thaddeus Murphy, 44, told federal agents that he made the pipe bomb out of a shotgun shell and fireworks fuses, the records said.
He said he was angry because the accountant wouldn’t return his phone calls or give him back his tax records. It was unclear whether Murphy knew that the accountant, Steve DeHaven, died in June in Mesa, Arizona.
DeHaven pleaded guilty in 2010 to filing false tax returns and was released from federal prison in April 2013.
A sign for an accountant’s business was still on the wall of the building, but it has been closed for 20 years, according to the president of the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP. The NAACP, which has been at the site since 1985, and a barbershop are the only tenants in the building.
Henry D. Allen Jr., president of the local NAACP chapter, expressed skepticism Friday about the accountant version of the story, but he would not say whether he believed his organization was the target.
“He targeted somebody in this building, and in my estimate it was not the tax people,” Allen said. “Does anyone really think this guy is going to admit to this?”
Murphy has been charged with arson of a building and being a felon in possession of a firearm. DeHaven’s death will not likely affect Murphy’s prosecution, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Denver.
At a hearing Friday in Denver, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hegarty ordered him held without bond pending another hearing next week. Murphy, wearing a white T-shirt, said nothing. He will be appointed a federal public defender.
Dorschner said investigators determined the bombing was not an act of terrorism. But, he added, “We’re also continuing our investigation to determine whether that confession is true.”
On Friday afternoon, Murphy’s weathered pickup truck and trailer still sat outside the duplex where he lives on a winding street of modest apartment buildings in northern Colorado Springs. No one answered the door at his apartment.
Nobody was hurt in the Jan. 6 explosion adjacent to a wall of Mr. G’s Hair Design Studios, a barber shop that also shares the building with the NAACP in a mostly residential neighborhood.
The crude device caused minor damage, failing to ignite a canister of gasoline set next to it. Even if the canister had ignited, the damage likely would have been minimal, the FBI said at the time.
Still, the explosion gained widespread attention due to its closeness to the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and the FBI investigated it as a possible hate crime.
National NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks said his organization appreciates local and federal authorities’ swift efforts in arresting and charging a suspect.
“We seek a continued investigation into the motive of the alleged suspect, and we look forward to the culmination of his criminal trial,” he said in a statement. “We will remain vigilant as we continue fighting for civil and human rights in Colorado Springs and throughout the country.”
Murphy told investigators he made the pipe bomb in his garage the night before the blast, using instructions he found online and materials from his work as a carpenter, according to court records.
Murphy believed the accountant intentionally destroyed his tax records, and he told investigators he “flipped out” because of his financial problems, the documents show. He said he wanted to send the accountant a warning.
“Murphy admitted the rationale for the pipe bomb was rage,” the documents say. According to court records, Murphy owed state taxes.
Investigators searched his house and found at least seven firearms, which he is barred from having because he is a convicted felon. They also found a pack of road flares with one missing, a hobby fuse and 3 ½ pounds of commercially available explosive.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a white Ford pickup near the scene of the blast.
A Colorado Springs police detective spotted a matching vehicle Feb. 10, which led authorities to Murphy. They watched him for several days before arresting him Thursday, according to the documents.
Among other evidence, Murphy’s cellphone records showed he had been close to the crime scene, and authorities found dog hair inside the pipe bomb that matched a brown pit bull living in Murphy’s home, the documents show.
Court records show Murphy’s criminal history includes a felony theft conviction for which he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009.
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Associated Press researcher Monika Mathur in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
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Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
By California Black Media
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).
“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.
“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.
The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.
Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.
“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.
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