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Tag: pipe bomb
Thomas Robertson, right, and Jacob Fracker during the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

Defying Court Order, Ex-Cop Busted In Capitol Riot Buys Dozens Of Guns

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

When Thomas Robertson was granted release by a federal judge in January, the decision was made under a number of very clear conditions. The judge made it clear that he "could not own any firearms, destructive devices or dangerous weapons while his case was pending."

If he owned any firearms, he was given two days to move them. However, Robertson has reportedly failed miserably in holding up his end of that agreement. According to The Washington Post, Robertson was prohibited from owning firearms but just days after his release, local authorities found approximately eight firearms at his home. He was given a reprieve for that occurrence but to no avail.

More recently, prosecutors noted that authorities found a number of disturbing items when Robertson's Ferrum, Viriginia, home was searched last month. According to court records, authorities discovered a "loaded M4 carbine and a partially assembled pipe bomb." Robertson, a former Rocky Mount, Virginia., police officer is "also accused of buying 34 firearms online and "transporting them in interstate commerce while under felony indictment."

In wake of the latest discoveries, prosecutors are now requesting that the judge revoke Robertson's release and issue a new warrant for his arrest as this is considered his second pretrial violation.

In a motion filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 30, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Ann Aloi and Risa Berkower laid out their request.

"Because the defendant has shown utter disregard for the Court's orders prohibiting his possession of firearms and other weapons during the time he has been on pretrial release, and because he has further flouted his release conditions through repeated violations of the federal firearms laws, the defendant presents a danger to the community that no release conditions will adequately mitigate," they wrote.

Robertson entered a not guilty plea for all of the charges he is facing in connection with the Capitol riots. His charges include: "obstruction of an official proceeding, aiding and abetting, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building."

‘Pipe Bomb’ Discovered In Carry-On Luggage At Anchorage Airport

‘Pipe Bomb’ Discovered In Carry-On Luggage At Anchorage Airport

By Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Transportation Security Administration agents found what Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport police have described as a “pipe bomb” in the carry-on luggage of a man ticketed on an oil worker flight to the North Slope Sunday, forcing an hour shutdown of the security checkpoint.

The man initially claimed the small explosive was an “avalanche device,” said Jesse Davis, chief of the airport’s police and fire department.

“I don’t know of any avalanche dangers up on the North Slope,” he said.

The FBI is interviewing the man, whose name has not yet been released, Davis said.

Police downplayed the incident, saying the public was never in danger and the pipe bomb appeared to lack a triggering device.

No motive is yet known.

At 1:55 p.m., screeners at the Anchorage airport’s only security checkpoint for ticketed passengers discovered the small explosive device in the carry-on luggage of a man ticketed on a Shared Services Aviation flight, Davis said in a phone interview Sunday night.

Shared Services Aviation is a joint service of ConocoPhillips and BP that flies oil company employees and contractors to the North Slope.

When the device was discovered, the TSA cleared passengers from a 300-foot radius around the security checkpoint where the explosive was discovered, said Sharon Long, an airport operations officer.

The citywide Explosive Ordinance Disposal team arrived and took the device off-site, Davis said.

The pipe bomb lacked a triggering device, he said. “It appeared based on their knowledge that it wasn’t an immediate danger to the traveling public.”

There was no airport-wide announcement about what was going on, Davis said.

The security checkpoint was back up and running by about 3 p.m., Long said.

Some flights may have been delayed due to an hour lapse in passenger screening, according to Davis.

An Anchorage FBI spokeswoman did not immediately respond to phone calls about the case Sunday night.

Photo: Shyb via Flickr