Man arrested for planting fake bombs in federal courthouse and church in West Virginia, police say

Police reportedly said they believe a third device may be inside a suspect’s home

The federal courthouse in Bluefield, West Virginia (Google Street View)

Police in West Virginia have arrested a man who they say was responsible for a triple bomb threat that closed down a church and a federal courthouse on Monday.

Dennis Dillow, chief of police for the city of Bluefield, told reporters that his officers had arrested 50-year-old local James Dean Fowler on suspicion of planting the hoax devices.

Multiple buildings in downtown Bluefield were evacuated that morning after suspicious devices were found at the federal courthoue and the Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Police performed a controlled detonation on one device, and told reporters that another was suspected to be waiting within the suspect’s home.

However, Mr Dillow told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that the ‘bombs’ had since been dismantled or examined and found to be fake.

He said police were called to the courthouse around 8:46am after Mr Fowler entered the building with a black bag which he claimed contained an explosivec device and “insisted on seeing a federal agent for national security”.

Mr Dillow said: “He was taken into custody and removed from the scene. That area was secured and the building was evacuated.”

A spokesperson for the Bluefield Police Department told The Independent that there was an ongoing incident and that the FBI was at the scene.

According to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, a bomb squad from the state’s capital city of Charleston entered the federal courthous in Bluefield around 10.30am local time on Monday and performed a controlled detonation.

Around 1.10pm, bomb squad units were also seen preparing to enter the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and by 2pm began moving to a nearby house.

This story was updated at 8:27pm Pacific Time on Monday 22 August 2022 to include new details released by police.