An Alabama man was arrested on Wednesday and charged with detonating an explosive device outside the state attorney general’s office in Montgomery earlier this year, the Justice Department said.
The man, Kyle B. D. Calvert, 26, of Irondale, Ala., was indicted on two counts of malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to documents unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Prosecutors say Mr. Calvert detonated the device early on of Feb. 24 outside the attorney general’s office in downtown Montgomery, the Justice Department said in a news release. If convicted, he would face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
“No injuries or major damage to nearby buildings were reported,” the department said, noting that federal and state law enforcement found “remnants of the device” when they arrived at the scene.
The news release did not describe the explosive device, nor did it say what the authorities believe the motive was for the detonation.
Court documents were not immediately available on Wednesday afternoon, and it was unclear if Mr. Calvert had a lawyer. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for the documents.
“The Justice Department has no tolerance for acts of violence targeting those who serve the public,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the news release.
The explosion was set off one day after the Alabama attorney general, Steve Marshall, announced that he did not plan to prosecute in vitro fertilization providers or families seeking treatment after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered children.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Marshall said that he and his staff had breathed “a collective sigh of relief this morning knowing that this individual has been taken off the streets.”
He added, “I think it is safe to say that this was not a random act of violence.”
