He is reportedly under house arrest…
A man accused of making a bomb threat at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Michigan over the weekend pleaded not guilty to the charges on Monday.
Steven William Nauta, who allegedly claimed to have C4 explosives in his vehicle and drove through a security checkpoint near the event, now faces four state charges. These include making a false threat of terrorism and possession of bomb-making materials. Nauta entered a plea of not guilty on all counts during his arraignment, according to court officials.
In the complaint against Nauta, prosecutors say he showed a bottle to police at a traffic checkpoint near the end of Trump’s rally in Walker, Michigan, and claimed it was C4 explosive.
The complaint says he sped past the traffic point, disobeyed commands by officers to stop and, when he finally stopped after being chased by police, “removed bags of fertilizer from his vehicle and threw them on the ground to make it appear that they were explosives.”
Authorities confirmed that Nauta’s bond has been set at $1 million, and he is currently under house arrest. The Walker Police Department, in a statement on Facebook, said Nauta was stopped in a parking lot at a nearby business and that no explosives were found in his vehicle.
“We are grateful for the efficient teamwork that ended this incident quickly, safely, and without interrupting the event or causing unnecessary panic,” the department said in the post.
The complaint says he sped past the traffic point, disobeyed commands by officers to stop and, when he finally stopped after being chased by police, “removed bags of fertilizer from his vehicle and threw them on the ground to make it appear that they were explosives.”
Nauta told law enforcement, the complaint says, that “he intended to make officers, and others, believe that he had explosives.”
A federal source familiar with the case told CNN that the fertilizer involved in the incident can be used to make explosives.
Among the charges Nauta faces, making a false threat of terrorism carries the most severe penalty—up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine if convicted.
Security concerns have intensified following two assassination attempts against Trump. In the second attempt, Ryan Routh, who was shot at by Secret Service agents before he could aim at Trump, outlined his plans in a letter predicting his failure. Routh also offered a $150,000 bounty for anyone who succeeds in assassinating the Republican nominee.
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