Arrest made in attack on Satanic Temple

An Oklahoma man was arrested Wednesday in his home state and charged with allegedly throwing a pipe bomb onto the porch of the Satanic Temple in Salem earlier this month, according to acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office.

Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, will make an initial court appearance Thursday in the Western District of Oklahoma. He will be brought to federal court in Boston at a later date, Levy’s office said.

Palmer, of Perkins, Okla., was charged in a criminal complaint filed Monday on one count of using an explosive to cause damage to a building used in interstate or foreign commerce. An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday, records show.

The explosive device was thrown at the Bridge Street building around 4:15 a.m. on April 8. No one was there at the time and it wasn’t found until the afternoon, police said.

The device, made from a plastic pipe filled with a powderlike substance and covered in metal nails, fizzled out and scorched the front of the building that operates as a temple, headquarters, and an art gallery, according to the complaint.

A single human hair and a dark dog hair were found on the pipe bomb. The human hair contained a DNA profile from a Caucasian male, Levy’s office said.

Security cameras on the property captured images of a man outside the building wearing black pants, a black jacket, a black covering on his face, a tancolored tactical vest, and gloves. The man can be seen igniting the bomb, throwing it toward the main entrance, and running away, the complaint said.

A six-page handwritten note was found in a nearby flower bed. It was addressed “Dear Satanist,” and repeatedly referred to Elohim, a Hebrew name for God.

“Elohim now send me to smite Satan and I happy to obey,” the note said. “And Elohim want me to contact you to tell you repent. Turn from sin. Elohim no like this place and plan to destroy it.”

Surveillance footage in the area recorded images of a 2007 black Volvo S40 sedan with Oklahoma plates registered to Palmer driving erratically, the complaint said.

Salem police Chief Lucas J. Miller commended the combined forces that captured Palmer, from the investigation by Salem police officers and detectives to FBI special agents, Massachusetts State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Authorities have previously investigated bomb threats and hate crimes at the temple.