Federal prosecutors in California charged a man Tuesday with bringing an improvised explosive device to Sacramento International Airport.
Kimani Osayande Jones, 49, went to Sacramento International Airport on Saturday at around 9 p.m. local time with a scarf around his face, latex gloves on his hands, and an improvised explosive device and a torch lighter in his carry-on bag, according to prosecutors.
The U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California described the device as an M-type explosive, which is a powerful, military-style device that is banned in the U.S.
Mr. Jones was also carrying an aerosol can, a knife, scissors, scissor blades, zip ties and five cellphones. One of the phones, prosecutors said, had a 15-minute timer primed to start, and another had a message from an unidentified number saying “we will be awaiting your call.”
Mr. Jones was arrested on the spot. The bomb was defused by the FBI and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
The powder and fuse in the bomb were found to be “viable and energetic.” The U.S. attorney’s office said that the blast could have injured someone, and if it had gone off near a window in a pressurized aircraft at least 10,000 feet up it could have damaged the plane and caused a loss of pressure in the plane’s cabin.
Mr. Jones is charged with unlawfully possessing explosive material in an airport. If he is convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The suspect, also known as Kimani Osayande Jackson, is being held in the Sacramento County Jail without bail, according to jail records.
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