A Georgia man is facing federal charges after confessing to planting pipe bombs in a local park to frighten locals into caring more about the threat of “foreign” terrorist groups.
As Raw Story reports, 67-year-old Michael Sibley of Marietta, Georgia is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly leaving a “potentially explosive device” in a backpack along a hiking trail last November. The backpack, which was discovered by a mother and her daughter, contained two “partially-constructed” pipe bombs, a listing of Atlanta Falcons football games, a schedule for the Atlanta-area subway system, and documents that named the Marcus Jewish Community Center nearby.
Police also found a Qur’an and a copy of the book The Rape of Kuwait in the backpack, but Sibley confessed to investigators earlier this month that his actions weren’t inspired by religious extremism. Instead, Sibley, who told investigators that he “viewed himself as a patriot,” suggested that he planted the bombs and the items in an attempt to convince his neighbors that they could be targets of global terrorism.
“[Silbley] felt no one was paying attention to what was going on (sic) the world,” the official federal complaint read. “Sibley felt if he placed a package in a Roswell Park then people would finally get that this type of activity could happen anywhere.”
The complaint also noted that Sibley inscribed the backpack with the name “Mina Khodari” because it “looked foreign.”
Sibley is being charged with conveying false or misleading information and maliciously intending to destroy federal property. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, according to Atlanta news station 11 Alive.