© Sara C. Tobias/The Advocate / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) — A Long Island man who complained online about New York City’s immigration policies, was indicted this week on charges of making homemade bombs and then spreading them around Manhattan. Prosecutors say 55-year-old Michael Gann bought the bomb making materials online, and then brought them to the city where he stored the final products on the roofs of apartment buildings in SoHo. He was arrested in early June.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York details how Gann threw one of his bombs onto the subway tracks in Soho. No one was hurt by the explosive, but Jay Clayton, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, says the Long Islander put “countless lives at risk”.
The U.S. attorney’s office says one of the bombs Gann put together contained around an ounce of explosive powder, which they say is 600 times the legal limit for consumer fireworks.
Back in March, Gann posted a message on X about his dislike for immigration and how it was hurting New York City. He tagged President Trump in the post “Dear @POTUS, I’m thinking just now here in NYC that it’s too bad that the wall wasn’t built before the National Guard would have to come here for the Protests and Riotation,” “Or would you just drop a bomb on this place while and because they seem to be coming and coming?” Prosecutors claim Gann began building the bombs after putting the message up on his X account.
Gann posted a second time right before he was arrested in June. He wrote “Who wants me to go out to play like no tomorrow?” When cops cuffed him he was allegedly carrying an improvised explosive device.
Court documents says that the NYPD and FBI were alerted to Gann’s bomb making by two witnesses who claim they saw him build or test the devices on Long Island. Those witnesses reported the incident to authorities. One of the unnamed witnesses says he was blinded for 20 seconds by the flash of light after Mr. Gann detonated a device in front of him. One of the witnesses also detailed how Gann complained about his Jewish neighbors.
Gann is facing three charges that include, attempted destruction of property, transportation of explosive materials; and unlawful possession of destructive devices. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 40 years in prison.
