An Isle of Wight County man was sentenced Thursday was sentenced to eight years in prison for possession of an unregistered shotgun and over 100 explosive devices – the largest amount of improvised explosives ever found in FBI history.
During his sentencing hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Brad Kenneth Spafford, 36, told a federal judge that his exposure to anti-government information from social media, podcasters and other related sources drove him to fear for the safety of himself and his family. It was this fear, Spafford claimed, that led him to arm himself to such an extent.
The FBI searched his farm in December 2024 and found more than 150 improvised explosive devices and several more explosive chemical compounds stored around Spafford’s garage.
Next to shelves filled with kids toys and bicycles, special agents and bomb technicians found explosive compounds and several cans of ammunition holding 5-inch-long PVC pipes filled with nails, according to the testimony of Special Agent Amanda Krugler.
In a freezer next to Hot Pockets, corn on the cob and frozen treats, special agents found a glass jar labeled with years old crystals of an explosive compound, said Krugler.
In a bedroom of the Spafford residence, agents found a short rifle and a backpack with an embroidered patch that said “#no lives matter,” stuffed with PVC pipe bombs and survival gear.
Law enforcement was tipped off by a neighbor who grew concerned after Spafford shared in text messages read aloud to the court that he had an interest in political violence and intended to heavily arm himself.
U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen noted that Spafford and his wife denied knowing of any dangerous substances on their property. Meanwhile dozens of federal, state and local officials and technicians spent three days in protective gear combing through the residence, garage and other outbuildings on the property.
Spafford’s family and friends packed the courtroom’s pews behind his attorneys, Jeffrey Swartz and Lawrence Woodward. More than two dozen letters of support for Spafford were sent to the court by friends, family, co-workers, managers and his minister.
Spafford showed regret for his actions and spoke of the pain of being separated from his family for the past year. “I now have a much better understanding of how wrong and stupid I was, and how unnecessary my fears were,” Spafford said.
As a husband and father to two daughters under the age of 10, “my daughters tell me of their sadness,” and how much “they cry for their daddy to come home from jail. It breaks my heart.”
“In 2020, people believed the world was falling apart,” said Swartz, one of Spafford’s attorneys. “They believed that the government was demanding things that they didn’t think it had the right to demand.”
Wright Allen said that, given the descriptions of Spafford’s honor and integrity, Spafford should have cooperated when 50 or so people were on his property trying to figure out what was going on.
In March 2021, Spafford was admitted to the hospital with injuries to his head and hand that left him with a loss of hearing and the loss of three fingers. Raising his hand in testimony to the court, there was a wrap in the place of his right thumb.
He had told hospital staff that the injury was sustained while setting off fireworks, which he later admitted to investigators was a lie, according to court records read aloud by Wright Allen, to conceal that the injury resulted from a misfire of a launcher.
“I’ve struggled with it and I still don’t understand how your inner circle did not know something was wrong,” Wright Allen said to Spafford’s friends and family.
Wright Allen referred to Spafford’s neighbor, who informed the police about his actions, as a “community hero.” She said that thanks to him, no one was harmed.
“We can’t go a day without hearing about shootings,” Wright Allen said. “Sometimes families saw the yellow flags and never said anything about it.”
In private text messages sent between 2021 and 2024, found by investigators and read aloud in court, Spafford expressed an interest in political assassinations, such as using photos of then-President Joe Biden for target practice and hoping that the shooter responsible for the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump “wouldn’t miss Kamala.”
In other messages with his wife read aloud in the courtroom, he suggested they “blow up Congress” and celebrate the Fourth of July with illegal explosives. Spafford suggested that he should “blow up Black Lives Matter rioters” and school board meetings that considered issues related to transgender students.
Many families concerned for their self-defense act lawfully, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt said. But building so many explosives, storing volatile chemicals without seals, sending text messages threatening violence towards others and lying to law enforcement, “this is not self-defense,” Gantt told the judge.
After serving his sentence, Wright Allen ruled, Spafford must spend two years on house arrest and undergo mental health treatment.
About the Author
