Isle of Wight man pleads guilty to explosives charges after over 150 IEDs found on his property
An Isle of Wight County man pleaded guilty Friday to possessing a large cache of explosives in his Smithfield home.
Brad Kenneth Spafford, 36, was arrested Dec. 17, 2024, after federal law enforcement officials say they discovered the explosives, acting on the tip of an informant. He originally pleaded not guilty in January, but he indicated he would change his plea at the beginning of July.
The investigation began in 2023 when an informant told authorities that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and ammunition at his home on Foursquare Road, according to court documents.
The informant told authorities that Spafford was using pictures of President Joe Biden for target practice and that “he believed political assassinations should be brought back,” prosecutors wrote. Several weeks after the assassination attempt of then-candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in 2024, Spafford told the informant that he hoped the shooter “doesn’t miss Kamala.”
Read more: WVEC