A trans person with links to Antifa was arrested and charged with the February detonation an improvised explosive device, a nail bomb, outside the Alabama attorney general's Montgomery office.
Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 26, of Irondale, Alabama, was indicted on Wednesday and charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
The charges per the indictment allege that Calvert "maliciously damaged, and attempted to maliciously damage, by means of fire and explosive materials, the Alabama Attorney General's Office," and that Calvert "knowingly possessed a firearm, to wit: a destructive device... which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record."
A detention memo from a US attorney's office stated, "That device had the characteristics of an IED, and Calvert added a substantial number of nails and other shrapnel to increase its destructive capability."
The explosion was outside the office of Attorney General Steve Marshall on February 24, in the early hours of the morning, at approximately 3:42 am. Surveillance footage showed an individual wearing dark clothes, a mask, and goggles near the statehouse.
In addition to the explosive device, law enforcement officers discovered that Calvert vandalized state buildings with stickers that were advocating for various political ideologies. These included Antifa and anti-police sentiments as well as sentiments expressing opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Some of those stickers read, "Support your local antifa," and surveillance footage showed the individual putting the stickers on the doors of the Alabama State Capitol Building. Shortly thereafter, the suspect could be seen near the attorney general's office, right before the explosion. They were then seen walking away.
A security officer working at the Southern Poverty Law Center nearby called police to report the explosion, but when Montgomery officers arrived, they cleared the call as they were unable to see anything wrong. The damage was discovered the following Monday morning.
Calvert also identifies as trans nonbinary.
From Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert's social media
The memo from the US attorney's office stated further that Calbert had a "belief that violence should be directed against the government, and he described his inability to control his own violent, aggressive impulses."
Prosecutors have asked for Calvert to be detained without bond. Prior to the arrest, Calvert posted videos showing office his extensive Antifa propaganda before the attack he is accused of carrying out.
Marshall was pleased that a suspect had been apprehended. In a statement Marshall said, "My staff and I are breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning knowing that this individual has been taken off the streets."
"Although more information will be provided in the weeks to come," he continued. "I think it is safe to say that this was not a random act of violence. We are grateful to our federal and local partners for their assistance in this matter and are pleased that the offender faces federal charges carrying significant prison time."
Calvert could face up to 20 years if convicted of the crime. A mandatory minimum would require Calvert to serve at least five years.
Shortly after the detonation in February, surveillance video of the suspect was released. Video shows a masked individual wearing black.
Calvert has also posted videos on TikTok in support of Palestinian terror group Hamas. He said, "This might be a bit of a deep cut but um," and went on to explain that supporting Hamas is the same as supporting the American Revolutionary War fighters overthrowing the British or supporting the South Vietnamese fighters against the North Vietnamese during the conflict in that nation in the 1970s.
That detonation happened one day after the controversial decision from the attorney general's office to not prosecute fertility doctors and providers who provide in vitro fertilization, despite the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling declaring that the embryos created as part of that process are life. However, a motive has not been released by prosecutors at the publication of this report.
