SPOKANE, Wash. – In a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Senior Judge Justin Quackenbush said he had no choice but to sentence Kevin Harpham, the backpack bomber, 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 January 17, 2011, in Spokane.
On March 9, 2011, Harpham was arrested for placing the explosive device alongside the Unity March. On Sept. 7, Harpham pleaded guilty 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.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March was attended by about 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, although he laughed about that allegation in court Tuesday. Officials say Harpham placed the explosive device at the Unity March with the intent to cause bodily injury to a person or persons in order to further his racist beliefs.
Tuesday’s hearing began with Harpham, 37, announcing that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea.
Harpham’s lawyers announced that they have newly discovered evidence, which is why they want to withdraw the guilty plea that the court has already accepted. The exceptions for withdrawing a plea deal are the cases that prove a “fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal,” the judge said. The defense is relying on a former FBI agent as their expert. Defense lawyers said the former agent would testify the backpack bomb is not an “explosive device,” the keyword being “explosive.”
The judge responded to this new argument by saying that the original plea admitted to the device being a bomb. Attorneys say the new expert’s conclusion recently determined that it cannot be classified as an explosive device, but there is not a written report to produce that states this. They said this expert is willing to testify. Because the judge had nothing in front of him and said he had a lack of information, he decided to go ahead with sentencing in Tuesday’s hearing.
Harpham had earlier admitted to placing the backpack bomb at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, and in Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutors said he was charged for the attempt itself. He told a judge in September that he placed a pipe bomb loaded with poison-laced metal along the parade route as an attempt to commit a hate crime. Harpham agreed to a plea deal charging him with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and the hate crime of placing the bomb in an effort to target minorities.
The government pointed out in the hearing that the side of the backpack bomb had been severed and then stapled shut. This would have allowed less resistance should the bomb have detonated. The attorneys explain that there were 100 grams of black powder in the end cap of the bomb, and it was meticulously duct taped. They said it was done with a great amount of detail and constructive work.
As sentencing commenced, the judge said there was a substantial risk of injury or death and called it an attempt to intimidate the civilian population of the city, if not the country. He says if the device exploded, Harpham would have been charged with 1st Degree Murder.
The judge then called Harpham to the podium, as he chose to speak for himself in front of the gallery. Harpham said that the evidence in the case stacked up too high against him, to the point he felt he could not defend himself in a trial. He told the court that he would not have pleaded guilty with the information from this expert.
Harpham claimed the device was not originally intended for the MLK parade attendees, and he backed out of using it as intended. Harpham says even though he knew it was not an entirely legal choice, he claims he never wanted to hurt anyone when he placed the backpack bomb. Harpham is not guilty of the acts he pleaded guilty to, he said. The bomb was allegedly intended for a nearby eye care center and was aimed at glass for “dramatic affect.” The FBI says his real intentions were much more sinister, because the bombs shrapnel had been coated in rat poison to act as an anti-coagulant.
Harpham compared the backpack bomb to a protest against gay marriage.
After his speech, the judge called Harpham’s words beyond comprehension, and he could not believe that Harpham would not take responsibility for his actions. He says the actions were directed towards “all of us, including innocent children, women, and men. “We are all inhabitants of this one planet. It’s not for you or I to decide who lives and does not live,” the judge said.
At the end of the hearing, the judge admitted that he would have preferred not to issue a 32-year sentence, but Harpham had not fully or partially accepted responsibility, and he hopes others do not follow suit. Harpham will serve the rest of his life under court supervision after he is released from prison.
Prosecutors had dropped charges of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and unauthorized possession of an unregistered explosive device. If he had been convicted, he could have faced up to life in prison.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force (INJTTF) comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 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.
To read the DOJ's press release, click here.
