John Allen: Michigan man arrested for phone store bombing attempt to limit porn
BAY CITY, MICHIGAN: A senior citizen has been arrested in Michigan for attempting to bomb cellphone stores and threatening to attack towers, the Department of Justice announced on September 21. The man, identified as John Douglas Allen of Bay City reportedly placed pipe bombs outside two stores in Cheboygan and Marie and threatening letters near cellphone towers in the region. His goal? To stop the spread of "immoral content" like pornography.
Allen's use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) follows several high-profile threats in recent months through the use of such devices. The FBI is still searching for the individual that left pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC headquarters in Washington DC on January 6. On January 15, a California man was arrested for hoarding such bombs at his business, and wanting to "blow up a Democrat building".
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Unlike those cases, it appears Allen wasn't at war with the Democratic party, but with porn. He claimed to be associated with the Coalition for Moral Telecommunication (CMT) and wanted software that would end the spread of porn, as well as $5M. The bombs were placed on September 15, and Allen was arrested on September 21. He now faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted, and could possibly be tried in two separate districts.
Allen wanted software to stop porn
On September 15, two USPS boxes with a wire coming out of them were found in front of an AT&T Store in Marie, and a Verizon Store in Cheboygan. The DoJ also claims Allen left "letters placed inside polka dot envelopes and sealed in zip lock bags at cell towers located in the Upper Peninsula." The letters were discovered in August. The letters say, "We are prepared to travel throughout this country and begin destroying inner-city tower communication." The letter also had two demands, firstly that carriers develop software to stop "all telecommunication containing immoral content" and secondly $5M to "cease and desist".
The group claims to be "almost 30 strong" and active in 27 states. "If one of our people is arrested, your problems will begin," the letter warns. It also adds that after any arrest, "the price will go up one hundred times." Little information exists about this group online, with no website or social media profile available. Despite the warnings, the FBI swooped in to examine the bombs, and help locate the person responsible.
Allen was arrested after CCTV footage revealed him as the person responsible for placing the bombs. While he was caught placing bombs in two districts, it appears he will be tried in Bay City. "Allen will be making an initial appearance this afternoon in Bay City on the complaint pending in the Eastern District of Michigan. A date has not yet been set for his appearance in the Western District of Michigan to answer those charges," the DoJ press release noted.
Both the Eastern District and Western District of Michigan are filing cases against Allen. In each district, he faces charges of extortion and Attempted Damage or Destruction of Buildings, each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years. A resident of Whittemore, Allen was identified as a retired miner who drove a minivan that appeared to be registered in California. Little else is known about him, and how became associated with CMT.