A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Washington has added a hate crime charge to the counts facing Kevin Harpham, the man suspected of planting a bomb in a backpack along a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade route in Spokane, Wash.
A superseding indictment issued Thursday alleges that Harpham left a backpack bomb along the parade route “because of actual or perceived race, color, and national origin of any person,” in violation of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
As TPM has reported, Harpham apparently posted regularly on white supremacist internet forums.
Harpham, who is charged with three other counts, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, faces life in prison.
Read TPM’s past Harpham case coverage here.
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpoitnsmemo.com
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