Razor blades, white powder attached to political signs lead to more charges in Arizona DNC shootings.

Razor blades, white powder attached to political signs lead to more charges in Arizona DNC shootings.

Arizona investigators watching the man accused of shooting at the office of the Democratic National Committee near Phoenix saw him hanging political signs with bags of a white, powdery substance, officials said. Tempe investigators began tracking 60-year-old Jeffrey Michael Kelly. Tempe Police Chief Kenneth McCoy announced at a press conference Wednesday that three separate shootings at the DNC office are suspected after receiving tips from the public. was arrested Tuesday on three felony counts of terrorism and seven other counts related to the shooting, court records show. On Wednesday night, the state added three more felonies for making false reports of terrorism, bringing the total to 13. “The state considers Mr. Kelly to be the greatest danger to democracy and society,” said prosecutor George Kelemen. “Trying to disrupt political activism, using violence against a political party is absolutely outrageous.” It was not immediately clear what the powder substance was. With the additional felony charge, the judge doubled Kelly’s bond to $1 million cash, an amount his attorney said was completely unaffordable. “Five hundred thousand dollars could be $5 billion,” Kelly’s defense attorney, Jason Squires, told the judge. Maricopa County jail records showed Kelly was still in jail Thursday night. Kelly was not asked to enter a plea at Wednesday’s hearing. CNN reached out to the prosecutor’s office and Squires for further comment Thursday. Arizona is one of the key battlegrounds in the upcoming election, where the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has intensified. The campaign season has already been marred by violence, including at a rally in Pennsylvania and his attempted assassination of Trump on a golf course in Florida. Three shootings Kelly has been charged with three shootings at the DNC office in Tempe. The first, on September 16th. , just after midnight, Kelly fired more than 10 rounds from a BB gun into the building’s front doors and windows, McCoy said. A week later, on September 23, around the same time, six shots were fired into the building. The front windows and office signs were damaged, the chief said. “This time it escalated to the point where real bullets were used,” McCoy said. Surveillance video from the second incident shows a silver Toyota SUV pulling out of a parking lot shortly after the shots were fired. .Two weeks later, on Oct. 6, shortly after midnight, a broken glass alarm went off and responding officers discovered three shots had been fired from the front of the building, McCoy said. The same silver SUV was seen on surveillance footage, the chief said. “Intimidation, intimidation or violence against political officials, regardless of party affiliation, is completely unacceptable,” Mitchell said. “These actions create fear and they undermine confidence in our elections and, frankly, undermine our democratic system.” “Our department recognizes the importance of this arrest and we want to reassure the community when you go to vote. “For the next 13 days, we are committed to keeping you safe,” McCoy said, denouncing political violence. Officials believe the cache of weapons represents a “potential mass destruction event”: More than 120 guns and more than 250,000 rounds of ammunition were found in Kelly’s home. Prosecutors said at Kelly’s arraignment Wednesday that he was arrested. Investigators believe he may have planned a mass killing, prosecutors said. “Certainly… the number of guns, and also the number of bullets that are involved, is certainly a factor that you have to consider. Mitchell said at a press conference. Defense attorney Jason Squires vehemently disputed claims that Kelly had a grenade launcher in his possession during the search of his home. “He had a flare gun,” Squires said, adding that Kelly was an athlete who “used it in various competitions.” Kelly was accused of stealing political signs in 2022, but said: “I don’t believe he’s been charged. A review of Kelly’s Facebook posts found numerous posts and memes criticizing liberals and Democrats, supporting former President Trump, and pro-gun and military content since 2012. Public posts on his page after August 2023. “We’re continuing to investigate to see if he has additional things planned,” McCoy said. Squires told the judge Wednesday night that his client is “retired.” “Aerospace Engineer” with a master’s degree and top secret government clearance. He did not provide further details about the nature of his work, which required a special permit. “There was no evidence that he was on a path of mayhem, destruction and death,” Squires said. Continue to work to ensure full voter turnout in the East Valley before Election Day,” a group spokesperson said. CNN’s David Williams and Chimen Pouto contributed to this report.

Arizona investigators watching the man accused of shooting at the office of the Democratic National Committee in suburban Phoenix saw him hanging political signs filled with bags of a white, powdery substance, officials said.

Tempe investigators began tracking Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, as a suspect in three separate shootings at the DNC office after receiving a tip from the public, Tempe Police Chief Kenneth McCoy said at a news conference Wednesday.

They saw Kelly put up signs with the bags Monday through Tuesday morning, the chief said.

Kelly was arrested Tuesday on three felony counts of terrorism and seven other counts related to the shooting, court records show. On Wednesday night, the state added three more felony counts of making false reports of terrorism, bringing the total to 13.

Prosecutor George Kelemen said: “The state believes that Mr. Kelly poses the greatest threat to democracy and society.” “Trying to disrupt political activism, using violence against a political party is absolutely outrageous.”

Keleman said in addition to the powder packets, knife blades were attached to the edges of the signs Kelly posted. It was not immediately clear what the powdery substance was.

With the extra felony charges, the judge doubled Kelly’s bond to $1 million cash, an amount his attorney said was completely unaffordable.

For Kelly, “five hundred thousand dollars could be $5 billion,” defense attorney Jason Squires told the judge. Maricopa County Jail records showed Kelly was still in jail Thursday night.

Kelly was not asked to enter a plea during Wednesday’s hearing. CNN reached out to the prosecutor’s office and Squires for further comment Thursday.

Arizona is one of the key battlegrounds in the upcoming election, where the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has intensified. The campaign season has already been marred by violence, including an assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and on a golf course in Florida.

Three shooting incidents

Kelly is charged with three shootings at the DNC offices in Tempe.

First, just after midnight on Sept. 16, Kelly fired more than 10 rounds with a BB gun into the front doors and windows of the building, McCoy said.

“A week later, on September 23, around six bullets were fired at the building, and its front windows and office signs were damaged,” said the head.

“This time the situation escalated to the use of live ammunition,” McCoy said.

Surveillance video from the second incident shows a silver Toyota SUV pulling out of the parking lot shortly after the shots were fired.

Two weeks later, on Oct. 6, shortly after midnight, a broken glass alarm went off and responding officers found three gunshots in front of the building, McCoy said.

The same silver SUV was seen on surveillance video, the chief said.

“Intimidation, intimidation or violence against political officials, regardless of party affiliation, is completely unacceptable,” Mitchell said. “These actions create fear and they undermine confidence in our elections and, frankly, our democratic system.”

“Our department recognizes the importance of these arrests and we want to assure the community that we are committed to keeping you safe as you go to the polls over the next 13 days,” McCoy said, condemning the political violence.

Officials believe the weapons cache represents a “potential mass casualty event.”

After Kelly’s arrest, more than 120 guns and more than 250,000 rounds of ammunition were found in his home, prosecutors said during Kelly’s initial court appearance on Wednesday.

Investigators believe he may have planned the mass killing, prosecutors said.

“Obviously, the number of guns and also the number of warheads is certainly a factor that you have to consider,” Mitchell said at a news conference.

Defense attorney Jason Squires strongly disputed claims that a grenade launcher was found in Kelly’s possession during a search of his home. “He had a flare gun,” Squires said, adding that Kelly was an athlete who used it in “various competitions.”

Kelly was accused of stealing political signs in 2022, but “I don’t believe he was charged at that time,” McCoy said.

A review of Kelly’s Facebook posts found numerous posts and memes dating back to 2012 criticizing liberals and Democrats, supporting former President Trump, and criticizing guns and the military. There are no public posts on his page after August 2023.

“We’re continuing to investigate to see if there are any additional things he may have planned,” McCoy said.

Squires told the judge Wednesday night that his client is a “retired aerospace engineer” with a master’s degree and a government secret clearance. He did not provide further details about the nature of his work, which required a special permit.

“There’s no evidence that it’s going to cause mayhem, destruction and death,” Squires said.

The Arizona Democratic Party “continues to work to ensure full voter turnout in the East Valley leading up to Election Day,” a spokeswoman for the group said.

CNN’s David Williams and Chimen Pouto contributed to this report.

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