The South Plainfield, New Jersey Labor Day Parade, which expected to bring out the likes of New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy, has been canceled after homemade explosives were found on the scene.
According to ABC News, the bombs were found near a wooded area along the route. The 62nd annual parade was expected to start at 10 a.m. with Gov. Murphy and his wife Tammy leading the march.
Apparently, the man responsible for the homemade explosives left nearly half-dozen firework-like devices on his property, which happened to be near the parade route, according to authorities.
The property owner was identified as Thomas G. Kaiser, 55, and was taken into custody and charged with possession of a destructive device for an unlawful purpose in the second degree and possession of a destructive device in the third degree, according to a joint statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
“It is anticipated that additional charges will be forthcoming,” according to the statement.
According to reports, Kaiser’s brother said the incident occurred after Thomas Kaiser bought fireworks at a Jersey shore concert and left them in a cooler outside his house, where police found them.
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“He was caught with fireworks,” said his brother, who did not want to be identified. “There were no bombs, nothing set in the streets, nowhere. They came, they searched his house with bomb explosive dogs. They found nothing in the house, found nothing anywhere in the vicinity.”
Police in Monmouth County began their investigation when a “suspicious package with a destructive device” was found at an ocean-side bar and restaurant in Sea Bright, Which then led investigators to Kaiser, according to the statement.
“During the investigation, it was learned that there were other destructive devices near his [Kaiser’s] home, which is located in the vicinity of the start of the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade, prompting its cancellation,” prosecutors said in the statement.
According to the publication, no direct threat was made against Gov. Murphy or the parade as said by police.
