Nazi Terrorist Kevin William Harpham was sentenced to 32 years in prison for a terrorist Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attempt to murder 2,000 people during a planned Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March held on January 17, 2011, in Spokane, Washington.

Nazi Terrorist Harpham was part of online Nazi white supremacist extremist networks. As reported by the SPLC, “on January 17, 2011, less than 12 hours after posting on the Nazi Vanguard News Network (VNN), Kevin William Harpham placed an improvised explosive device concealed in a backpack along a Martin Luther King parade route in Spokane Washington. The lead sinkers in the radio-detonated IED were coated with Warfarin rat poison, evidently intended to increase bleeding. Had the device functioned, dozens of men, women and children would have been killed or injured. Harpham also distributed The Aryan Alternative.”

CNN reported: “Harpham, an unemployed electrician from Colville, Washington, pleaded guilty in September to charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to commit a federal hate crime. Shrapnel in the “improvised explosive device” contained anticoagulant to prevent blood clotting, authorities said. After he is released from prison, Harpham will serve the rest of his life under court supervision, federal prosecutors said. “Harpham admitted that he is a white supremacist and white separatist, and that he placed the explosive device at the march with the intent to cause bodily injury to the person or persons in order to further his racist beliefs,” a Justice Department statement said. Federal prosecutors had recommended that Harpham be sentenced to 32 years in prison, according to court documents. He was sentenced in federal court in Spokane. The January 17 march was attended by about 2,000 people, including racial minorities, authorities said.”

CBS reported that”just before he was scheduled to be sentenced, Harpham’s lawyer tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea by questioning whether the explosive device in question met the legal definition of a bomb. Harpham said he intended to seek an appeal. The pipe bomb was loaded with lead fishing weights coated in rat poison, which can inhibit blood clotting in wounds, officials have said. The bomb was discovered and disabled before it could explode. The parade on Jan. 17 drew a crowd of about 2,000 on a cold winter morning. It was forced onto an alternative route after the bomb was found. Harpham walked in the parade and took pictures of young black children and of a Jewish man who was wearing a yarmulke, prosecutors have said.  Prosecutors said Harpham acted alone. He was arrested March 9 at his rural home near Addy, Wash.  The plea deal charged Harpham with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and the hate crime of placing the bomb in an effort to target minorities. Prosecutors dropped charges of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and unauthorized possession of an unregistered explosive device. If convicted, he could have faced up to life in prison.  The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, has said that Harpham made more than 1,000 postings on the Vanguard News Network, a white supremacist website. The center also has said that Harpham belonged to a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.”

The Department of Justice press release stated:

WASHINGTON MAN SENTENCED TO 32 YEARS FOR ATTEMPTED BOMBING OF MARTIN LUTHER KING UNITY MARCH

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Justice Department announced today that Kevin William Harpham, 37, of Colville, Wash., has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for the placement of the improvised explosive device alongside the planned Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March held on Jan. 17, 2011, in Spokane, Wash. Harpham will serve the rest of his life under court supervision after he is released from prison. Harpham pleaded guilty in Sept. 7, 2011, to two counts of a superseding indictment; attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempt to cause bodily injury with an explosive device because of actual or perceived race, color and national origin of any person.

On March 9, 2011, Harpham was arrested for placing the explosive device alongside the Unity March. The march was attended by approximately 2,000 individuals, including racial minorities. The explosive device placed by Harpham was capable of inflicting serious injury or death, according to laboratory analysis conducted by the FBI. Harpham admitted that he is a white supremacist and white separatist, and that he placed the explosive device at the march with the intent to cause bodily injury to the person or persons in order to further his racist beliefs.

“Acts of hate like this one have no place in our country in the year 2011, but yet, unfortunately, we continue to see attempted violence in our communities due to racial animus,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez. “The Justice Department is committed to enforcing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate Crimes Prevention Act, and all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal, to prosecute such egregious crimes.

“This case underscores the continuing threat from those who seek to express their hatred through violence and the serious consequences these individuals face for such actions,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The sentence handed down today is the culmination of an outstanding investigation conducted jointly by federal, state and local law enforcement officials.

Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said, “I commend the law enforcement efforts at all phases of the investigation and prosecution of this matter. This was one of the most thorough investigations that I have ever seen and involved multi-levels of law enforcement and multiple offices and other professionals. Our office received significant assistance from the Civil Rights Division and National Security Division of the Justice Department. All who participated should be thanked and congratulated, this was truly a team effort.” U.S. Attorney Ormsby also added, “It is very important that Mr. Harpham receive the significant sentence that he did today to send the message to our community that hate and violence will not be tolerated.”

“Today, Mr. Harpham faces the consequences of his hate-filled act. A prototypical “lone wolf” such as Mr. Harpham presents a particularly vexing threat—with nothing foreshadowing a carefully planned attack,” said Laura M. Laughlin, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI Seattle office. “However, the actions of everyday citizens, the Spokane Police Department, the Spokane Explosives Disposal Unit, and the round-the-clock work of Joint Terrorism Task Force and its local, state, and federal members unraveled Mr. Harpham’s plan and swiftly brought him to justice. We will continue to tirelessly disrupt and rapidly apprehend others who attempt to express their hatred though violence.”

This investigation was conducted by the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force comprised of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Spokane Police Department, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol, and with assistance from Stevens County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Employment Security Department. The Stevens County Road Department also provided significant assistance.