Alabama man charged with detonating explosive device outside state attorney general's office

An Alabama man was arrested and indicted this week on charges that he detonatedan explosive device outside the Alabama attorney general's office in late February, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 26, of Irondale, was charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device, the Justice Department said.

The explosion outside Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office occurred around 3:42 a.m. on Feb. 24. No injuries or major damage were reported.

"That device had the characteristics of an IED, and Calvert added a substantial number of nails and other shrapnel to increase its destructive capability," a U.S. attorney's office wrote in detention memo filed Wednesday, using the initialism for an improvised explosive device.

The memo alleges that law enforcement officers found that the suspect also placed stickers on state buildings "advocating for various political ideologies" the night of the explosion, including stickers promoting antifa, anti-police and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement sentiments.

Calvert has expressed his “belief that violence should be directed against the government, and he has described his inability to control his own violent, aggressive impulses," the memo added.

Court documents revealed a monthslong investigation involving the use of video surveillance to track the suspect’s whereabouts the night of the crime, matching the suspect vehicle to license plate reader information, social media, an analysis of the suspect's gait and mannerisms and analysis of the explosive device.

The detonation happened one day after the state attorney general's office said Marshall did not plan to prosecute in vitro fertilization