Suspect in attempted Spokane bombing a known white supremacist
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SPOKANE, Wash. -- A man accused of leaving a sophisticated bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route in Spokane is known to an organization that tracks hate groups.
Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center told KOMO News that Kevin Harpham was a member of the white supremacist National Alliance in 2004. But Potok says his organization doesn't know when he joined or if he has left the group.
Harpham, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday morning at his Addy home. He was scheduled to appear in court at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on charges of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered explosive device. It wasn't clear if Harpham has a lawyer.
The Southern Poverty Law Center confirmed Harpham was a member of the National Alliance in late 2004. SPLC calls the National Alliance one of the most influential hate groups to emerge in America in the past 30 years. The group, based in West Virginia, was formerly headed by William Pierce, author "The Turner Diaries," which the SPLC says is considered the "Bible of the radical right."
The SPLC could not confirm when Harpham became a member or whether he was still a member, but the center's records confirmed he was a National Alliance member in 2004.
Paul Mullet, the former self-proclaimed leader of the Aryan Nations , said Harpham expressed interest in joining the Aryan Nations five or six years ago. Mullet said he had about a dozen conversations with Harpham after being contacted about a possible membership int the Aryan Nations. Harpham never joined the group, Mullet said.
Military officials confirmed Harphan served at Fort Lewis from June 1996 to February 1999 as a fire support specialist in the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment. A 2006 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center identified Ft. Lewis as a hotbed of extremist group activity in the military.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made a brief mention of Harpham's arrest during a noon press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, acknowledging the work of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and local law enforcement in the Inland Northwest to finding and arresting the suspect behind the bomb attempt.
"It was a viable device, it was planted with the aim of hurting or killing people," Holder said of the device plant on the morning of Jan. 17.
A backpack was found on a bench along the route of the Unity March. The bomb squad cordoned off the area, the backpack was secured and its contents were removed and shipped to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va.
Gov. Chris Gregoire also acknowledged the work not only of the task force but also the city employees who found the device and helped avert a tragedy.
"It was clear that when the emergency response system was put to a test, it worked as it should have and prevented what could have been a terrible tragedy on a day of celebration," Gregoire said in the statement.
Early Wednesday morning, FBI agents contacted Stevens County officials and asked to borrow some road equipment. Agents then moved the equipment, a backhoe and two trucks, to a position near Harpham's home and pretended to work on a culvert, staging near his home and keeping the area under surveillance.
They also issued a no-fly zone three miles wide before they executed the raid. Neighbors said they heard an explosion, then saw Harpham being arrested on a road near his house. The back window of a small maroon sedan appeared to have been blown out.
Federal agents served a search warrant on Harpham's home while state troopers set up a roadblock on the road leading down to his home.
The FBI has not commented on the raid, but the criminal complaint against Harpham, filed Tuesday in U.S. DIstrict Court in Eastern Washington, alleged that on or about Jan. 17, Harpham "did knowingly attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction" in that he placed an improvised explosive device along the Unity March parade route on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. The complaint also alleges that Harpham had in his possession an IED not registered to him.
If convicted, Harpham could face life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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KXLY-TV in Spokane contributed to this report.
Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center told KOMO News that Kevin Harpham was a member of the white supremacist National Alliance in 2004. But Potok says his organization doesn't know when he joined or if he has left the group.
Harpham, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday morning at his Addy home. He was scheduled to appear in court at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on charges of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered explosive device. It wasn't clear if Harpham has a lawyer.
The Southern Poverty Law Center confirmed Harpham was a member of the National Alliance in late 2004. SPLC calls the National Alliance one of the most influential hate groups to emerge in America in the past 30 years. The group, based in West Virginia, was formerly headed by William Pierce, author "The Turner Diaries," which the SPLC says is considered the "Bible of the radical right."
The SPLC could not confirm when Harpham became a member or whether he was still a member, but the center's records confirmed he was a National Alliance member in 2004.
Paul Mullet, the former self-proclaimed leader of the Aryan Nations , said Harpham expressed interest in joining the Aryan Nations five or six years ago. Mullet said he had about a dozen conversations with Harpham after being contacted about a possible membership int the Aryan Nations. Harpham never joined the group, Mullet said.
Military officials confirmed Harphan served at Fort Lewis from June 1996 to February 1999 as a fire support specialist in the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment. A 2006 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center identified Ft. Lewis as a hotbed of extremist group activity in the military.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made a brief mention of Harpham's arrest during a noon press conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, acknowledging the work of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and local law enforcement in the Inland Northwest to finding and arresting the suspect behind the bomb attempt.
"It was a viable device, it was planted with the aim of hurting or killing people," Holder said of the device plant on the morning of Jan. 17.
A backpack was found on a bench along the route of the Unity March. The bomb squad cordoned off the area, the backpack was secured and its contents were removed and shipped to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va.
Gov. Chris Gregoire also acknowledged the work not only of the task force but also the city employees who found the device and helped avert a tragedy.
"It was clear that when the emergency response system was put to a test, it worked as it should have and prevented what could have been a terrible tragedy on a day of celebration," Gregoire said in the statement.
Early Wednesday morning, FBI agents contacted Stevens County officials and asked to borrow some road equipment. Agents then moved the equipment, a backhoe and two trucks, to a position near Harpham's home and pretended to work on a culvert, staging near his home and keeping the area under surveillance.
They also issued a no-fly zone three miles wide before they executed the raid. Neighbors said they heard an explosion, then saw Harpham being arrested on a road near his house. The back window of a small maroon sedan appeared to have been blown out.
Federal agents served a search warrant on Harpham's home while state troopers set up a roadblock on the road leading down to his home.
The FBI has not commented on the raid, but the criminal complaint against Harpham, filed Tuesday in U.S. DIstrict Court in Eastern Washington, alleged that on or about Jan. 17, Harpham "did knowingly attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction" in that he placed an improvised explosive device along the Unity March parade route on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. The complaint also alleges that Harpham had in his possession an IED not registered to him.
If convicted, Harpham could face life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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KXLY-TV in Spokane contributed to this report.
