Salem Satanic Temple Pipe Bomb Suspect Pleads Guilty In Attack: DOJ

SALEM, MA — An Oklahoma man charged in a pipe bomb attack at The Satanic Temple in Salem last April and accused of leaving a six-page handwritten letter in the flower bed next to the temple and art gallery saying he was sent to "smite" and "destroy" Satan and "maybe Salem too" pleaded guilty in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Okla., pleaded guilty to one count of using an explosive device and attempting to damage a building used in interstate or foreign commerce. Sentencing is scheduled for June with Palmer facing at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

• Salem Satanic Temple Pipe Bomb Suspect Charged In Oklahoma

Salem police said an investigation determined the bomb was thrown at about 4 a.m. on April 8, 2024, and that the damage was not discovered until staff arrived at the Temple, which is also an art gallery, about 12 hours later.

Perkins was charged five days later in Oklahoma.

No one was injured in what Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo called "a terrorist attack."

The Department of Justice said that surveillance footage showed a man with a black face covering igniting the pipe bomb as he approached the Temple, throwing it at the main entrance, and then running away. The pipe bomb then partially detonated, causing a minor fire and related damage.

The pipe bomb was constructed from a roughly two-foot section of plastic pipe covered with metal nails attached to the pipe with duct tape. The inside of the pipe was filled with smokeless gunpowder.

Court charging documents said a single human hair was located on the bomb containing DNA from a white man and the six-page letter was found nearby that was addressed "Dear Satanist."

The note said the man came to the Temple seven months ago to give a "peaceful message to hope you repent" and now was being sent back by Elohim — a Hebrew biblical reference to God — to "smite Satan and I happy to obey." The note urged those in and around the Temple to "repent" and "turn from sin" and said that Elohim planned to destroy the Temple and "Maybe Salem too?"

Court charging documents said a black Volvo sedan registered to Palmer was seen driving erratically near the Temple both before and after the incident, and that the suspect "comments frequently on a social media website about religious matters and themes similar to those contained in the handwritten note found outside the TST on April 8."

The DOJ said court documents accuse Palmer of purchasing items consistent with the pipe bomb at an Oklahoma home improvement store five days before the bombing.