Salem Satanic Temple Pipe Bomb Suspect Charged In Oklahoma

SALEM, MA — An Oklahoma man suspected of throwing a pipe bomb at The Satanic Temple in Salem earlier this month and leaving a six-page handwritten letter in the flower bed next to the temple and art gallery saying he was sent to "smite" and "destroy" Satan and "maybe Salem too" was charged with the bombing on Wednesday.

The Department of Justice said Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, will make his initial appearance in the Western District of Oklahoma court on Thursday and appear in a Boston federal court at a later date.

Salem police said an investigation determined the bomb was thrown at about 4 a.m. on April and that the damage was not discovered until staff arrived at the Temple, which is also an art gallery, about 12 hours later.

No one was injured in what Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo called "a terrorist attack."

The DOJ said that surveillance footage showed a man with a black face covering igniting the pipe bomb as he approached the Temple, threw it at the main entrance and then ran away. The pipe bomb then partially detonated, causing a minor fire and related damage.

Court documents said a single human hair was located on the bomb containing DNA from a white man and the six-page letter was found nearby that was addressed "Dear Satanist."

The note said the man came to the Temple seven months ago to give a "peaceful message to hope you repent" and now was being sent back by Elohim — a Hebrew biblical reference to God — to "smite Satan and I happy to obey." The note urged those in and around the Temple to "repent" and "turn from sin" and said that Elohim planned to destroy the Temple and "Maybe Salem too?"

Court documents said a black Volvo sedan registered to Palmer was seen driving erratically near the Temple both before and after the incident, and that the suspect "comments frequently on a social media website about religious matters and themes similar to those contained in the handwritten note found outside the TST on April 8."

The DOJ said court documents accuse Palmer of purchasing items consistent with the pipe bomb at an Oklahoma home improvement store five days before the bombing.

Someone convicted of the charge of using an explosive to cause damage to a building used in interstate or foreign commerce is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.