This story has been updated to add comments from Phillips’ attorney.
A Mason man has pleaded guilty in a case in which officials said he planned to detonate a homemade bomb in Lebanon.
On Sept. 24, James River Phillips, 21, pleaded guilty in federal court in Cincinnati to illegally transporting explosive materials, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. The FBI arrested him in April on a warrant.
Phillips had planned to detonate an improvised explosive device near a large soccer complex in Lebanon, the release said.
In a previous statement, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force said Phillips is connected to other incidents “where he is alleged to have possessed and detonated potential explosives.”
Discovery of explosive device leads to investigation
On Sept. 22, 2024, a Lebanon police officer was patrolling near a soccer complex just after midnight and asked two men in a silver SUV to leave the area because the business was closed, according to court documents.
After the men drove away, the officer discovered the explosive device, and the Butler County Bomb Squad was called to the scene to seize the device, investigators said.
Using cellphone information, investigators were able to identify a phone that was in the area of the soccer complex at that time, court documents state. They reported that the phone led them to an iCloud account associated with Phillips where they found videos of explosives being detonated.
Court documents state that one video appeared to show Phillips holding a detonation device.
“After Phillips presses the detonation device, a large explosion is heard in the distance and an unidentified male can be heard saying ‘it blew the car above the tree line,'” investigators reported in court documents.
The iCloud account also showed photos of a shed located in a wooded area behind a Mason home.
“Interior photos of the shed … appear to show that the shed contains running electricity, racks for glass beakers, heated magnetic mixers, and unknown chemicals and powders,” court documents state. “Photos recovered from the iCloud appear to show that Phillips is making explosive devices in the shed.”
The FBI investigators reported that they were also able to link online purchases of the chemical needed to make explosive materials to Phillips.
“The final resolution of this case was fair to both the government and my client,” Scott Croswell, Phillips’ attorney, said. “James and his family are grateful that, after a full and thorough investigation the government agreed with our position that James had no intention to injure or harm anyone.”
A hearing for Phillips’ sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mason man pleads guilty after prosecutors said he intended to detonate homemade bomb
Reporting by Matthew Cupelli and Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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