2 men charged after explosive device detonates near Pennsylvania polling place
Two men have been charged after an explosive device was thrown from a pickup truck and detonated near a Pennsylvania church being used as a polling place during the state’s primary election, according to officials and local media reports. No injuries were reported.
The explosion happened Tuesday morning near Salem United Church of Christ in Catasauqua, a borough in Lehigh County. State police had previously said the device detonated about half a block from the church entrance and around the corner from the polling place.
Jack Pletz, 24, and Matthew Pletz, 56, are charged with unlawful possession or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, risking catastrophe, possession of an instrument of crime with intent and other related offenses, according to the criminal complaint.
State police responded to the church at about 11 a.m. and found remnants of the device at Third and Walnut streets. Investigators described the debris as red tubular cardboard fragments and melted red end caps consistent with materials used in “M-type” explosive devices.
Surveillance video showed a green Chevrolet pickup truck traveling north on Third Street toward Walnut Street shortly before the explosion, according to the complaint. The truck’s engine was heard revving before the blast, and smoke was then seen moving south on Third Street as the pickup drove through it.
The same pickup was later seen traveling south and parking on Third Street near Pine Street, where two men got out. Investigators identified them as Jack and Matthew Pletz and determined they lived at the Pine Street address.
State police obtained a warrant and searched the pickup, finding 17 homemade and illegal “M-type” explosive devices and a plastic-encased explosive destructive device. Investigators x-rayed the devices and determined they contained suspected explosive filler.
Matthew Pletz was being held at the Lehigh County Jail after failing to post bail, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 26, according to WCAU. Custody information for Jack Pletz was not available.
State police said Tuesday that investigators had no information indicating the incident was related to the polling location. Voters were still able to access the church through a side entrance while several nearby streets were closed.
The Pennsylvania State Police Troop M Major Case Team is leading the investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Allentown Bomb Squad and several local agencies.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
