Matthew B. DePalma of Flint pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis on Tuesday to illegally possessing Molotov cocktails.
According to the plea agreement:
DePalma spent about 90 minutes at the Hennepin County Library on Aug. 18 researching recipes for homemade bombs. He bought the supplies for Molotov cocktails a few days later.
He said that if he could bomb the Xcel Center on Sept. 1, "they might call off the convention."
He added that a "power outage would say a lot" and that it was his "main purpose." DePalma also said that he would like to bomb the Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 4 so that the convention would "end with a bang."
On Aug. 22, DePalma allegedly made two jugs of a homemade napalm-like substance for use in the Molotov cocktails. He was seen traveling to a remote location in Rosemount to allegedly assemble and test the Molotov cocktails.
DePalma faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
In an unrelated case, two Texas men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly making Molotov cocktails during the convention. The Texans are accused of planning to use the bombs on police cars parked in a lot not far from the Xcel Center. David McKay and Bradley Crowder were part of a group of convention protesters that came north to St. Paul from Austin, Texas. Police found the bombs in a common area of an apartment building that the men were seen entering and leaving.
They allegedly bought the supplies for their bombs at a St. Paul Wal-Mart.
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