TAPPAN, NY — A Hudson Valley man is accused of building a massive bomb in his basement in order to detonate it on Election Day in Washington DC. According to the FBI, Paul Rosenfeld planned to detonate a large explosive to kill himself and draw attention to his radical political beliefs.
“As alleged, Paul M. Rosenfeld concocted a twisted plan to draw attention to his political ideology by killing himself on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.—risking harm to many others in the process,” Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in announcing the Tappan resident’s arrest. “Rosenfeld’s alleged plan for an Election Day detonation cut against our democratic principles. Thanks to outstanding coordination between local and federal law enforcement, Rosenfeld’s alleged plot was thwarted and he is now in federal custody.”
Agents learned about letters and text messages Rosenfeld had sent about buying black powder and building a bomb to detonate in the nation’s capital on Election Day. (Get real time Pearl River Patch news alerts free.)
His reason for these acts was to draw attention to his political belief in “sortition,” a political theory that advocates the random selection of government officials, they allege.
They stopped him in a car on Tuesday, and in the course of interviewing him learned about the bomb in his basement in Tappan. Armed with a search warrant they searched the house and found a 200-pound explosive device.
He had apparently been practicing with smaller explosives, and done test detonations prosecutors allege.
He ordered large quantities of black powder—an explosive substance—over the Internet, which he transported from a location in New Jersey to his home in Tappan. Prosecutors said Rosenfeld stated, among other things, that he used about eight pounds of black powder to construct a large explosive device in the basement, and that he installed certain components in the explosive device to ensure that he was killed in the blast.
FBI bomb technicians removed the bomb from the basement and transported it to a safe location. Within the home, law enforcement agents also found, among other things, a fusing system for triggering explosive devices and what appeared to be empty canisters of black powder, prosecutors said.
“As alleged in the complaint, had he been successful, Rosenfeld’s alleged plot could have claimed the lives of innocent bystanders and caused untold destruction,” Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said. “Fortunately, his plans were thwarted by the quick action of a concerned citizen and the diligent work of a host of our law enforcement partners and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.”
Rosenfeld, 56, has been charged with one count of unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of interstate transportation and receipt of an explosive, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
He was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison in White Plains federal court Wednesday afternoon.
Berman and Sweeney thanked the Orangetown Police Department, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Rockland County District Attorney, the New York State Police, the New York City Police Department, and the Stony Point Police Department.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Michael K. Krouse is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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