Man, 49, is arrested for throwing a homemade pipe bomb on the porch of a Satanic Temple

An Oklahoma man was arrested and charged for throwing a homemade pipe bomb on the porch of a Satanic temple last week.

Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, allegedly set fire to a pipe filled with gunpowder and threw it at the entrance to the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts, before escaping last Monday.

Surveillance cameras captured the suspect walking outside the temple wearing a tan tactical vest, gloves, a black jacket and a black face covering early that morning.

The homemade pipe bomb caused minor fire damage to the temple, but no one was in the building when it detonated.

On Wednesday morning, FBI agents were seen searching a property in Perkins, Oklahoma, where Palmer lives. Authorities later announced his arrest.

Surveillance cameras captured the suspect walking outside the temple wearing a tan tactical vest, gloves, a black jacket and a black face covering early that morning

Palmer allegedly lit a pipe filled with gunpowder (pictured) and threw it at the entrance to the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts, before escaping last Monday

The homemade pipe bomb caused minor fire damage to the temple (seen above). Fortunately, no one was in the building when the bomb exploded

Evidence found at the scene included a six-page handwritten note addressed to “Dear Satanist,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The note read: ‘DEAR SATANIST ELOHIM SENT ME 7 MONTHS AGO TO GIVE YOU A PEACEFUL MESSAGE AND HOPE YOU CONVERT. YOU SAID NO, ELOHIM NOW SEND ME TO STRIKE SATAN AND I OBEY OBEY.”

The message continued: “AND ELOHIM WANTS ME TO CONTACT YOU TO TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE REPENTED. TURN FROM SIN. ELOHIM DOESN’T LIKE THIS PLACE AND PLANS TO DESTROY IT. MAYBE ALSO A SALE? ELOHIM SENDS ME TO FIGHT CRYBABY SATAN, BUT WANTS ME TO MAKE HARD EFFORT SO THAT NO ONE DIES. I OBEY.”

The Satanic Temple in Salem, also an art gallery with a permanent exhibit on Satanism, was vandalized with white spray paint seven months ago, although the incident was not made public at the time.

“There is therefore probable cause to believe that the individual responsible for the April 8 IED incident is the same individual responsible for vandalizing TST with spray paint in September 2023,” the FBI said.

Authorities said the bomb was made of a plastic pipe covered with metal nails and a substance later identified as smokeless gunpowder.

A single human hair belonging to a white male and a dark-colored dog hair were also found at the scene.

Palmer can be seen on social media donning a tan tactical vest, similar to the one captured in the surveillance footage

Authorities said the bomb was made of a plastic pipe covered with metal nails and a substance later identified as smokeless gunpowder

The homemade pipe bomb caused minor fire damage to the temple

The charging document alleged that Palmer purchased PVC pipe and matching PVC end cap, like the pipe and end cap used to construct the pipe bomb, from a home improvement store in Oklahoma in early April.

Authorities revealed that a black Volvo sedan registered as Palmer was driving “erratically” near the temple both before and after the incident.

Photos on Palmer’s social media show the 49-year-old man owns at least one dog with dark hair, like the one found at the scene.

“Palmer also allegedly regularly comments on a social media website on religious matters and themes similar to those in the handwritten note found outside TST on April 8, 2024,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Palmer will make his first appearance Thursday in the Western District of Oklahoma. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

If convicted, Palmer faces five to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

According to its website, the Satanic Temple claims to be the only federally recognized international non-theistic religious Satanic organization

“I also hope this makes it clear once again that if you target the people of Salem with violence, we and our friends at the FBI will find you,” Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said in a statement.

Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the temple, told the story NBC10: “I think this person was very motivated to cause a lot of damage and destruction, and didn’t care if people were killed or injured along the way.”

“Especially if it’s a random person who thinks they know something about us when they clearly don’t, just based on ignorance, we have to fear that there is still ignorance among a population group,” Lucien added.

According to its website, the Satanic Temple claims to be the only federally recognized international non-theistic religious Satanic organization.

The headquarters in Salem also has an art gallery and a permanent exhibition dedicated to witch hunts, Satanism and moral panic.