A Cobb County man accused of placing a backpack containing pipe bombs at a Roswell park pleaded guilty in federal court, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Michael C. Sibley, 67, of Marietta confessed in March to the Nov. 4 incident, telling investigators he placed the backpack, explosives and religious books in the park to "wake up" people in the United States, U.S. Attorney John Horn's office said. Sibley pleaded guilty to a charge of conveying false and misleading information about a crime, Horn said in an emailed statement.
“In addition to breaking the law, threatening an act of terrorism is a serious matter that diverts scarce law enforcement resources away from legitimate threats and unnecessarily causes alarm,” Horn said. “Sibley’s crime is even more troubling because he attempted to exploit stereotypical fears and prejudices.”
The name written on the abandoned backpack appeared to be a Middle Eastern name. The backpack also contained two books: “The Rape of Kuwait” and “The Holy Qur’an.”
In an interview with investigators, Sibley said that he placed the bag with these devices, the books and other items in the park to bring attention to borders that he believes allow people to enter the United States illegally. Sibley wanted people to realize if it could happen in Roswell, it can happen anywhere, Horn said.
In November, a mother and daughter walking in the park spotted the backpack and called police, an FBI spokesman previously said. The Cobb County police bomb squad was called to the scene.
Inside the bag, investigators found two pipe bombs with nails and screws taped to the outside of the tubing, consistent with construction designed to cause a lot of damage upon explosion. The pipe bombs also appeared to be ready for remote detonation, but the devices did not have a power source, which was required to remotely cause the explosion, according to investigators.
Sentencing for Sibley is scheduled for January.
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