A trans nonbinary Antifa member has pleaded guilty to detonating an explosive device outside the building housing the Alabama Attorney General’s office. 26-year-old Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, of Irondale, had been charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection to the February incident.
According to the Trussville Tribune, Calvert changed his plea to guilty last Friday.
The indictment alleged that Calvert “maliciously damaged, and attempted to maliciously damage, by means of fire and explosive materials, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office,” and that Calvert “knowingly possessed a firearm, to wit: a destructive device… which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.”
A detention memo from a US attorney’s office stated, “That device had the characteristics of an IED, and Calvert added a substantial number of nails and other shrapnel to increase its destructive capability.”
The explosion was set off outside Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on February 24, at around 3:42am. A person wearing dark clothing, a mask, and goggles was captured on surveillance footage near the statehouse. Law enforcement also found that nearby state buildings had been vandalized with stickers advocating for Antifa and displaying anti-police and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement sentiments.
The FBI linked the man in the video to Calvert after a review of Calvert’s social media. One photo posted by Calvert showed him wearing goggles similar to the ones seen in the footage. Video posted by Calvert showed him detailing a set of stickers that he had purchased, many of which were identical to the ones placed around the Alabama State Capitol.
