A Michigan man who allegedly planned to bomb the Satanic Temple in Salem and had recently visited the city is in custody in Michigan, the Salem Police Department said Saturday.
Luke Isaac Terpstra, 30, was arrested by authorities in Grant, Michigan, on Jan. 2 on a charge of possession of bombs with unlawful intent, Salem Police Chief Lucas J. Miller said in a statement.
Michigan law enforcement informed police in Salem that Terpstra was planning to target the Satanic Temple, the statement said.
Salem police said they also learned that Terpstra had traveled to Salem at some point in November, “possibly for planning purposes.” There is currently no indication he was working with anyone local or had accomplices, police said.
“The City of Salem and the Salem Police Department recognize that it is frightening and concerning that there are individuals who would threaten or carry out violent attacks against others based on their beliefs and that we are a target,” Miller said in the statement. “On the one hand it is gratifying that our federal and local partners were able to thwart Terpstra. On the other, it is terrifying that he walked in our midst planning such violence.”
Terpstra was arraigned in the 78th District Court of Michigan on Jan. 4 and received a $1 million cash bond, Grant Police Chief Bradley Wade said in a statement.
“This is an ongoing investigation and more charges are possible,” Wade said in the statement.
Michigan law enforcement were investigating Terpstra after his mother told the Kent County Sheriff’s office that explosives had been thrown in the garbage at his home in Grant, according to WZZM, an ABC-affiliated news station in Grand Rapids.
She said her son was being evicted and his stepfather had gone to his house to help him pack when he saw a box of explosives and took a picture of it, according to WZZM, citing court records.
When his stepfather asked about the explosives, Terpstra allegedly told him he was thinking about bombing the Satanic Temple in Salem because “there are pedophiles there and they’re bad people,” according to the news station.
He also allegedly told his stepfather that he had recently traveled to Salem to view the location, according to WZZM.
The sheriff’s office informed Grant police, and the Michigan State Police bomb squad was called in to assist, the Gran Police Department said.
Michigan State Police searched the garbage cans using robots and found homemade explosive devices, some wrapped with shrapnel and one wrapped in rounds of ammunition, according to WZZM.
The sheriff’s office arrested Terpstra and also “took possession of other weapons,” the Grant Police Department said.
Grant is a city of fewer than 1,000 people, according to census data, and sits about 30 miles north of Grand Rapids.
The case remains under investigation by Michigan State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Salem police said.
Messages sent to Michigan State Police seeking further information were not returned Saturday.
The Salem-based Satanic Temple in recent years has been entangled in high-profile First Amendment lawsuits and subject to protests and vandalism.
In August, a federal judge ruled that the City of Boston had not violated the Satanic Temple’s First Amendment right to freedom of religion when councilors declined to invite the Temple to give an opening prayer before a council meeting in 2016.
In 2022, the Temple sought to have its flag raised at Boston City Hall after the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the city had violated the First Amendment rights of a Christian group by refusing to fly its flag, which contained a red Christian cross.
In the spring, the Satanic Temple hosted its annual conference, SatanCon, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, an event that drew demonstrators of various ideologies who protested outside the event.
The temple has also previously been targeted for destruction.
In 2022, a Chelsea man was arrested after he allegedly set fire to the temple’s entrance while three people were inside. No injuries were reported.
The man told police that the temple’s members were “Devil worshippers” and “need to be wiped out,” the Globe reported.
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.