Man’s plan to bomb Satanic Temple is thwarted, MA cops say. ‘He walked in our midst’

A Michigan man was arrested for planning to bomb The Satanic Temple headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, police said.

Luke Isaac Terpstra, 30, of Grant, Michigan was arrested on Jan. 2 by Grant police, according to a Jan. 12 news release from the Salem Police Department. Terpstra is charged with possession of bombs with unlawful intent.

Michigan law enforcement were tipped off about Terpstra’s plan by his mother, WZZM reported citing court documents.

Terpstra’s stepfather saw the improvised explosives —some wrapped in shrapnel and ammunition— in a box while helping him move after he was evicted from his Grant residence, the station reported.

“Official attacks on us inspire and embolden deranged and sometimes violent people,” said Lucien Greaves, The Satanic Temple’s co-founder and spokesperson.

“In Michigan, where the would-be bomber is from, a congressman is attempting to pass a bill that seeks to provide a pretext to take away The Satanic Temple’s religious tax-exemption,” Greaves said.

Terpstra told his stepfather he visited Salem in November to scope out the location, according to WZZM.

“It is terrifying that he walked in our midst planning such violence,” Salem police officials said. “An attack such as Terpstra was planning keeps us up at night.”

The Satanic Temple didn’t know about the threat until after Terpstra was arrested, according to Greaves.

“We never actually received a threat associated with the bombing plot,” Greaves said. “Rather, we learned first from a news reporter in Michigan that a man had been arrested for attempting to make bombs to use against our headquarters in Salem.”

The Satanic Temple contacted the Salem Police Department who then reached out to the Grant Police Department, Greaves said.

An investigation by Michigan State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is ongoing, police said.

“Though I have not been quantifying the varieties of outreach I receive into categories, it does seem apparent that there is an increase in threatening messages and conspiracy theorist outrage,” Greaves said. “Unfortunately, I anticipate that things will not calm down till some time after the presidential election.”

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