Whether it was meant to kill or simply send a message, Attorney General Steve Marshall told Newsmax on Monday there’s no doubt that Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, who allegedly detonated a bomb outside Marshall’s Montgomery office in February, was motivated by radical leftist beliefs.
“We don’t know specifically the intentions on this particular device for the suspect as far as hurting people in our office or whether he was trying to send a message and be able to come back later,” Marshall said on Newsmax's "National Report." “But the reality is that he is an individual on social media who has proclaimed his allegiance to Antifa, that believes very strongly in using aggressive behavior and violent behavior to go against a government that he doesn’t support.”
He continued, “He’s also somebody that has stated very strong beliefs against conservatives, about those in the pro-life movement, and definitely against the church. There’s very little doubt in my mind that the placement of that device was intentional at our office, particularly knowing the positions that I take and the issues that I’m directly involved with, was trying to send a message to dissuade us from being involved in those issues that matter to the people of Alabama.”
Marshall said the suspect has waived his bond hearing before his federal trial. The AG's office said in an earlier press release that Calvert faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine for malicious damage by explosive and an additional 10 years up to a $10,000 fine for the possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Marshall also did not rule out the possibility of a state prosecution.
“The good thing is we’ve taken him off the streets, and he needs to be held accountable with a lengthy prison sentence down the road. But in the short run, Alabama is safer because of his arrest and the people that work in my building have a much more level of comfort in being able to come to work knowing someone who directly attacked us is no longer on the street," he said.
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