Armed man arrested at 'No Kings' protest had more than a dozen explosives at home, police say
By Danny Freeman, CNN
Kevin Krebs, of Malvern in suburban Chester County, is facing charges including felony possession or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, according to the county district attorney’s office and court documents.
Affidavits of probable cause obtained by CNN did not allege what Krebs may have been planning or say why he was near Saturday’s protest. The Chester County district attorney’s office declined to comment further on the case Wednesday, except to say that the investigation is active and ongoing.
CNN has sought comment from an attorney for Krebs.
The investigation began early Saturday afternoon as a “No Kings” rally – one of numerous protests nationwide against President Donald Trump’s policies – was getting underway in the Pennsylvania borough of West Chester, some 25 miles west of downtown Philadelphia.
A bystander alerted a police officer they saw a man near the protest strapping on “something akin to a tactical vest,” putting a handgun in his waistband, and hiding it under a neon yellow raincoat, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CNN.
Police radioed the description to other officers in the area, and a West Chester police officer spotted Krebs in a yellow raincoat a block from rally-goers, according to the complaint.
The officer stopped and searched Krebs and found a loaded Sig Sauer P320 handgun, a “bayonet knife,” pepper spray and several magazines of ammunition concealed under his raincoat and clothes, the complaint says.
Police then found his vehicle near the area, with an AR-15-style rifle “on the floor of the rear seat,” according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators determined Krebs didn’t have a concealed carry permit, and he was arrested and charged Saturday with carrying a firearm without a license before being released on bond on Sunday, authorities said.
But the investigation was not over.
From bond to a pipe bomb, authorities say
According to court documents, part of the bail agreement was Krebs had to surrender any weapons and stay at his parents’ home in West Chester.
On Monday evening, officers executed two search warrants at about the same time: one at his parents’ home, where they encountered Krebs, and another at his listed home in Malvern, about 8 miles from West Chester, the complaint says.
While officers spoke with Krebs and his father in the first location, officers made an alarming discovery at the second location, according to the complaint.
Chester County detectives found what appeared to be a pipe bomb in a desk drawer in the garage of the suburban Krebs’ home, and “detailed drawings of three grenades,” according to the complaint. They called in a neighboring county’s bomb squad.
In addition to the pipe bomb containing nails and screws, officials found “improvised detonators” in a box labeled “no touch pls” in the garage, the complaint says. Also in the garage were more pipes with timers attached to them, shell casings with unidentified powders in them, several ignition fuses, and explosive mixtures, according to the complaint.
“In total, 13 improvised explosive devices were located inside” the home, the complaint says. The bomb squad rendered all devices safe, the district attorney’s office said.
Krebs was rearrested Tuesday morning and this time denied bail, according to court records.
Krebs faces 13 felony counts of possession or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction; a felony count of causing catastrophe; 13 misdemeanor counts of possession of an instrument of crime with intent to employ it criminally; and a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person, according to court records.
A preliminary hearing on the latest charges is scheduled for July 3, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing of July 15 is listed for the initial carrying a firearm without a license charge.
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