A man arrested over an explosion near the building that houses a Colorado branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – an incident which led to speculation that it might have been a hate crime – told authorities he was actually targeting an accountant.
Thaddeus Cheyenne Murphy, 44, was arrested on Thursday night on charges of arson and being a felon in possession of firearms. He was due to appear in court on Friday.
During an interview with investigators, Murphy admitted to planting the pipe bomb at the building, saying it was to “send a warning” to an accountant he was upset with, according to court documents filed on Friday. He told investigators he had declared bankruptcy and “flipped out” over financial problems.
Last month, a crude explosive device detonated near the building that houses the Colorado Springs NAACP office, as well as a hair salon called Mr G’s Hair Design Studios. The pipe bomb exploded against a concrete wall adjacent to the building where the accountant had an office. A red plastic canister filled three-quarters of the way with gasoline and placed near the device failed to ignite.
No one was injured in the explosion, and the building was only minimally damaged. A beer can, a piece of flare and duct tape littered the site near the explosion.
Even so, the explosion rattled residents, and led to speculation that the target was the NAACP. The FBI said last month the incident was being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Murphy told investigators he believed the accountant was intentionally keeping keeping tax records from him, according to the court document. He said he learned to build the pipe bomb online and constructed it the night before in his garage. He admitted to authorities that the motivation for planting the device was “rage”, the doucment said.
When they searched Murphy’s home, investigators found five firearms which he was not allowed to own as a convicted felon.
The FBI, in collaboration with the US attorney’s office, ATF and Colorado Springs police department, was investigating the January blast.
