What started as a man sitting in a car outside a Raleigh police substation turned into a full-blown bomb scare last Wednesday, with a bomb squad response, a building sweep and now both state charges and a federal hold tied to alleged threats against former President Donald Trump.
Detectives say the man claimed he had a pipe bomb in his vehicle. No hazardous device was found, but officers arrested him under North Carolina’s bomb-hoax laws. A Wake County judge later set his bond at $250,000, and authorities say the investigation is still very much active while federal officials look at his online activity.
Police Response And Hoax Charges
Raleigh officers were called around 10:38 a.m. for a report of a suspicious person in the 5200 block of Greens Dairy Road, where a police substation is located. When detectives approached the man at the substation, they say he told them there was a pipe bomb inside his parked car.
The area was checked and no explosive device turned up. Police later charged 33-year-old Christopher Carnes with two counts of perpetrating a hoax in or at a public building, according to ABC11.
Social Media Videos Cited In Case
Investigators told federal authorities they had reviewed social media videos Carnes allegedly posted in May and June that targeted Trump. The New York Post reports that in a May 13 clip he said he “wanted to kill Donald Trump.” In a June 6 post, he allegedly addressed Trump by name and said, “Donald Trump, I don’t have time for operation epic fury no more. Now you know I got a live f--king bomb,” according to court documents cited by the outlet.
Legal Stakes: State Hoax Law And Federal Threat Statute
State prosecutors have brought the case under North Carolina’s bomb-hoax statute, which makes placing a false bomb at or in a public building a felony under G.S. 14-69.2 and allows courts to order restitution, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.
Separately, threats against a president or former president are a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 871, which carries its own penalties and helps explain the involvement of the Secret Service and other federal authorities, per Cornell Law's LII.
Court Hearing And What Comes Next
Carnes appeared virtually in Wake County court, where the judge had him muted after he repeatedly interrupted the proceedings. He denied wrongdoing and told the court his online posts were for “entertainment purposes,” according to WRAL.
The judge set his bond at $250,000. Authorities say the case remains under investigation as federal officials continue to review the social media material tied to the alleged threats.
