Wimauma Woman Found With 24 Pipe Bombs, Instructions, Manifestos

WIMAUMA, FL — A 27-year-old Wimauma woman was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office after the bomb squad reportedly discovered 24 pipe bombs in her home along with bomb-making materials, instructions on making bombs and anarchist manifestos. The sheriff's office said the bombs had the potential to cause catastrophic damage and loss of life.

Michelle Louise Kolts was arrested just after midnight Friday at the home she shares with her parents in the 5000 block of Jagged Cloud Drive in the Sereno subdivision. The sheriff's office launched its investigation into Kolts Thursday after her parents alerted the sheriff's office to her activities.

"I can only imagine how hard it is to call in about any family member," Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a press conference Friday.

Chronister said Kolts' parents said the woman tested on the lower end of the autism spectrum. For unknown reasons, she became obsessed with mass shootings like the Columbine massacre.

She first caught the attention of the sheriff's office in August 2018 when an online printing company contacted the sheriff's office to report Kolts was ordering a substantial number of anarchy manuals and manifestos.

"They found it alarming and contacted us," Chronister said. The sheriff's office investigated but found nothing illegal at that time.

This week, her parents contacted the sheriff's office after discovering bomb-making materials, knives and other weapons, bomb-making instructions, DVDs and anarchist manifestos in her bedroom.

Inside her home police found a total of 24 pipe bombs, smokeless pistol powder, fuse material, 23 different knives, two hatchets, two BB/pellet-type rifles, six BB/pellet-type handguns, nunchucks and dozens of books and DVDs about murder, mass killing, domestic terrorism and bombmaking.

“What is even more frightening is that each of the pipe bombs contained nails, metallic pellets or a combination of both, and it would have taken less than 60 seconds per device to add the powder and fuse material she already possessed to detonate each device,” Chronister said.

He said the bombs had the potential to kill hundreds and possibly thousands of people.

Kolts was picked up at her job, Chadwell Supply, a building maintenance and repair company. When questioned, she admitted making the bombs and said she intended to use them to harm others although Chronister said she didn't specify how she intended to use them and investigators found no list of targets.

Kolts is facing 24 counts of making a destructive device with intent to harm and is being held without bail at a Hillsborough County Jail. Both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI are involved in the investigation.

“While this case is certainly alarming, it's not to demonize an individual struggling with mental health. It's to highlight the importance of speaking up when you see something that is not right," Chronister said. "We cannot say it enough, if you see something, say something."

He said the takeaway is Kolts' parents did the courageous thing by calling police when they became suspicious of their daughter's activities.