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 Thaddeus Murphy, 44, was sentenced in Denver by U.S. District
Judge William Martinez. The prison term will be followed by three
years of supervised probation, court documents showed.
Murphy pleaded guilty in August to damaging by explosives or fire a
building used for interstate commerce in the Jan. 6 bombing at a
Colorado Springs office building, and for being a convicted felon in
possession of firearms.
Murphy denied to federal agents that he targeted the office of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, but said
he was furious at his tax accountant who once had an office in the
same building.
No one was injured in the blast from the pipe bomb that charred an
exterior wall of the building.
Murphy was arrested after witnesses provided a description that
matched Murphy's appearance, as well as his distinctive pickup truck
that was seen leaving the area.
A search of Murphy's home uncovered remnants from the crude
explosive, including road flares, galvanized steel pipe, duct tape
and shotgun shells, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver said in a
statement.
Investigators also found two assault rifles, a handgun, two
shotguns, a World War Two-era Russian-made battle rifle, and a
homemade silencer, prosecutors said.
"The defendant admitted that he knew he was not allowed to possess
firearms because he was a convicted felon," the U.S. attorney's
statement said.
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In a sentencing statement filed with the court, Murphy's lawyers
said the carpenter was suffering from depression, insomnia and
anxiety, and wanted to file for bankruptcy but could not reach his
one-time tax preparer.
"Under these unique set of circumstances, Mr. Murphy made a horrible
mistake: he set an explosive device near a building he thought
belonged to his former tax accountant in order to scare him," the
defense statement said.
"His crimes are serious ones, but no one was injured by his actions
and no real damage was done to the building."
Thomas Ravenelle, special agent in charge of the FBI's Denver
division, said Murphy "terrorized the community of Colorado
Springs."
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Eric M. Johnson
and Peter Cooney)
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