A man carrying an explosive device powerful enough to damage an airplane, as well as a lighter, knife, plastic ties and other items, was arrested after attempting to pass through a security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport, federal prosecutors announced.
The 49-year-old from Sacramento was wearing a scarf covering his face and gloves, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in a statement to the media.
He also had five cell phones. One had a 15-minute timer on, while another had a message on its screen from another phone number that read: “We’ll be waiting for your call.”
Photos released by prosecutors showed a cardboard tube about the size of a toilet paper roll, fitted with a green fuse. Bomb experts tested the device.
According to Grant, the powder and fuse “were determined to be functional and potentially explosive.”
He added that if the device were to explode near a window of a pressurized aircraft flying above 10,000 meters, “it had the potential to damage the aircraft and cause possible loss of life to the occupants of the cabin.”
Before the device was removed from the airport, officers placed a special blast-wave blanket over it and isolated the surrounding area, according to the federal indictment against the suspect.
He was arrested on Saturday and appeared in federal court in Sacramento on Wednesday.
The 49-year-old is charged with unlawful possession of explosive materials at an airport. The federal complaint also alleges that he had made vague and erratic calls to the FBI over the previous months, reporting that he was being threatened and intimidated.
His defense attorney, Meghan McLoughlin, said in an email to The Associated Press that “there is often more to these cases than the government’s allegations, and the criminal process will reveal her client’s side of the story.”
It is not yet known how detailed the man was searched at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint.
Last year, air travelers in the US were no longer asked to remove their shoes during security checks.
This rule was established in 2006, several years after the failed 2001 attempt by the so-called “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid, to bring down a flight from Paris to Miami.