Bomb Plot Suspects Indicted by Federal Grand Jury

The five men arrested in the plot to have now been indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday.

The self-proclaimed anarchists will each face three counts stemming from a plan hatched over several months to blow up the State Route 82 bridge over the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Brandon Baxter, 20, of Lakewood, Douglas L. Wright, 26, Anthony Hayne, 35, Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, face charges including one count of attempted use of an explosive.

The men had hoped to use C-4 explosives to blow up the bridge, after deciding against other targets such as the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland and the Detroit-Superior Bridge, according to an affidavit. 

However, the men — — bought fake bomb-making materials from an undercover FBI agent.

They were arrested Monday night.

The men — all fringe members of the Occupy Cleveland movement — are also charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction to destroy a highway carrying interstate commerce and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

The men face up to life in prison for the charges, said Mike Tobin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He wouldn't comment on whether the men will face additional charges.

Represented by different attorneys, the men are scheduled to appear at 11 a.m. May 7 at the federal courthouse in Cleveland for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing.

They will remain in custody until then.