Complaint Filed Against Tulsa Man Alleged To Be Responsible For Explosion At Bixby Air Force Recruitment Office

Today, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Loretta F. Radford, filed a four-count Federal Complaint against Benjamin Don Roden, a 28-year-old resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, accused of using an explosive device to cause destruction of the Bixby Air Force Recruitment Office. The Federal Complaint charges Roden with Malicious Damage to Federal Property By Use of Explosive, Destruction of Federal Property, Use of Explosive to Commit Federal Felony, and Destruction of Federal Property.

The supporting affidavit to the Complaint generally alleges that Roden violated Federal laws associated with the destruction of Federal property and Federal laws prohibiting the manufacturing, possession, and use of explosives. The Complaint specifically alleges that on July 10, 2017, at approximately 10:28 p.m., an explosive device detonated outside of the Air Force Recruiting Station located at 10425 South 82^nd East Avenue, Suite 103, Bixby, Oklahoma. Besides breaking windows, the resulting explosion from the detonation of the explosive device caused significant structural damage to the office front of the recruiting station. Roden was identified and later arrested, based upon leads obtained from Roden’s Facebook page and a witness who identified Roden’s motorcycle speeding away simultaneously with the sound of an explosion in the area; the execution of a Federal search warrant against Roden’s residence; and a consensual search of a residence belonging to Roden’s parents. The explosive, identified by law enforcement specialists as an improvised explosive device, is commonly referred to as a “pipe bomb”.

“The exacting and immediate response by the Federal Bureau of Investigation has led to the successful arrest and detention of an individual who would seek to do harm to the citizens of the Northern District by designing and creating a pipe bomb to target a Federal military recruitment facility. I view this conduct as not only a threat to the safety of the citizens of this district, but as an assault upon all of the dedicated men and women in this country who willingly support our military efforts,” Acting U.S. Attorney, Loretta F. Radford said. “I intend to seek a formal grand jury indictment.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation, assisted by Special Agents with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Unit, the Tulsa Police Department Bomb Squad and the Bixby Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Allen J. Litchfield and R. Trent Shores will prosecute the case.