A Michigan man with explosives traveled to Massachusetts in 2023 and said he wanted to blow up a Salem building later known as the Satanic Temple, according to a federal indictment.
Luke Terpstra was charged in western Michigan with two felonies: transportation of explosives and possession of unregistered explosives.
“Manufacturing and transporting explosives with the intent to injure civilians or damage property puts all of us at risk,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said Wednesday. Ta.
Explosives thrown into porch of Satanic Temple in northern Boston suburb
The charges were filed Tuesday. Terpstra, 30, of Grant, Michigan, is being held in the Newaygo County Jail on state-related charges. He will be arraigned in federal court next Monday.
Court documents do not yet list the name of the attorney who will represent Terpstra.
FILE – A figure stands on the porch of the International Headquarters of the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts, on October 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
The Salem Satanic Temple says it does not believe in the devil, but describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” that supports secularism. There is an art gallery on site.
According to the indictment, Terpstra was in possession of explosive devices, multiple firearms and ammunition during a trip to Salem in September. The indictment does not mention his motive. No acts of violence occurred.
When local authorities in Michigan first filed the charges in January, Salem officials said it was “horrifying that he would be among those of us planning such acts of violence.” Stated.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In April, an Oklahoma man threw a pipe bomb into the main gate of the Satanic Temple, causing a minor fire and other damage, according to federal authorities. A handwritten note found nearby mentioned the fight against “Crybaby Satan.”
