‘Violent’ man with ‘anti-government beliefs’ who detonated nail bomb outside Alabama AG’s office, sentenced

An Irondale man has been sentenced to federal prison for detonating an explosive device outside the Alabama attorney general’s office.

Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 27, pleaded guilty in August to malicious use of an explosive device.

A federal judge sentenced him Thursday to nine years in prison.

“Kyle Calvert attacked the Alabama Attorney General’s office with an explosive device filled with shrapnel and then fled the scene, but this sentence ensures that he will not escape responsibility for his crime,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Acts of violence like this against our public institutions put public servants and entire communities at risk and must not be tolerated.”

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, Calvert, in the pre-dawn hours of February 24, detonated an explosive device outside AG Steve Marshall’s office in downtown Montgomery.

No one was injured.

Calvert admitted during his plea hearing that he manufactured the device. He used nails and screws as shrapnel and accelerants to cause an explosion.

Before planting the device, Calvert placed stickers on various downtown buildings.

The stickers had graphics advocating various political ideologies. Some stickers included the phrase “Support local antifa.”

Among those stickers identified as having been placed in Montgomery—and matching Calvert’s collection—included:

• An Antifa logo superimposed over a rainbow flag background with the words “ANTI-FASCISM IS COMMUNITY SELF-DEFENSE.”

• An image of a multi-level pyramid-like structure with individuals located at each level, with the words “BREAKING ALL HIERARCHIES”.

• The “A” symbol, believed to represent anarchy, next to an image of an AK-47 rifle, superimposed over a black background with leaves and flowers, with the words “NATURE ARISES.”

• A purple sticker with a masked face inside a female icon. The words at the top of the sticker read “FEMINIST ACTION”.

• A white sticker with scattered font that says “Eat the rich”. The “A” inside the word “EAT” is shaped like the symbol of anarchy.

• An image of several masked and hooded people, one wearing a slingshot and another wearing goggles. In the center of the sticker, the Antifa symbol is displayed above the words “SUPPORT ANTIFA LOCALLY.”

• A black sticker in red and white font with the words “FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS BECOME POLICE.” A red symbol of anarchy surrounded by a red heart is in the bottom right corner of the sticker.

Calvert claimed in his plea that he has no affiliation with antifa.

Antifa, short for Anti-Fascist, does not describe a specific group, but rather describes individuals who adhere to what they consider to be “anti-fascist beliefs”.

The term Antifa is often associated with violent anarchist extremists, individuals who, in addition to holding anti-fascist beliefs, also oppose capitalism and the current form of the US government and advocate violence to achieve their goals, the charging documents explain.

Surveillance footage showed that at 2:50 that morning, a person wearing a dark jacket, hat, mask and goggles was seen on video in the area of ​​the Alabama Statehouse.

At 3:03 AM, the person was observed placing a sticker on the doors of the Alabama State Capitol building.

Then, at 3:35 a.m., the individual was seen walking northbound in the area of ​​Washington Avenue and Decatur Street toward the Attorney General’s Office.

At 3:42 a.m., surveillance footage captured a large explosion near the General Prosecutor’s Office.

At 3:43 a.m., the individual was seen walking north on Bainbridge Street toward Monroe Street and away from the Alabama Attorney General’s office.

A few minutes later, around 3:49 a.m., a security officer working at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) called 911 to report that an explosion had occurred about five minutes earlier on the north corner -west between Washington Avenue and Bainbridge Street.

At 3:54 a.m., a Montgomery police officer arrived in the area. Due to the location of the explosion, the officer could not see any evidence of it from his vantage point.

At 4:13 a.m., records show, the officer dismissed the call as unfounded.

The damage wasn’t discovered until Monday morning, when workers arrived back downtown to begin the work week.

According to multiple video surveillance images of the suspect and a thorough analysis of the video footage, the subject appeared to be a white male wearing a black or dark leather-like jacket with dark pants, a gray or tan black beanie hat. or leather-dark shoes, a blue mask, and goggles with a thick black strap with thick circular lenses.

Investigators used video surveillance footage of the suspect at known locations to estimate he was about 6 feet, 2 inches tall and slim. He had a unique walk where his toes pointed inwards when he took a step.

The suspect’s gait appeared to be more pronounced on the right side, causing a limp when he walked.

Investigators learned that the device was similar to a coffee canister, containing insulating material soaked in a gasoline or liquid lighter substance, a mortar, firecrackers and nails.

The FBI lab report classified the explosive as an improvised explosive device (IED).

The general components of an IED consist of a main explosive charge, a fusion system, and sometimes a container and/or fragmentation.

Additional enhancements can be added to an IED to increase its destructive capacity and lethality.

“This IED used commercially available pyrotechnics as the primary explosive charge, a coffee can as a concealment container, and was enhanced with added fragmentation and igniting liquids,” the FBI agent wrote. “The addition of metal screws, nails and other hardware to this IED demonstrates weaponization characteristics due to the enhanced fragmentation effect those materials would create. The addition of flammable liquids to IEDs demonstrates weaponization characteristics due to the IED’s increased ability to initiate a fire.”

“The act of placing and initiating the IED in the driveway near a government building demonstrates that this device was used as a weapon against property and/or to cause injury/death,” the agent wrote.

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the ATF and AlEA.

Middle District of Alabama Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell T. Duraski and Brett J. Talley prosecuted.