Arizona Man Accused of Plotting Mass-Casualty Attack at Religious Site Using Cookbook Linked to Oklahoma City Bombing

In a separate case, prosecutors say an Arizona man accused of plotting a mass-casualty attack at a Jewish or Muslim place of worship possessed a notorious bomb-making guide associated with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Matthew Bjornholt, 27, has been charged with felony terrorist threats over the alleged plan to target a religious institution.

Maricopa County prosecutors allege that Bjornholt developed a detailed plan involving firearms, explosives and a second person who would shoot at anyone left alive after the initial attack.

At a Friday court hearing, prosecutor Stephen Garcia requested a $500,000 cash bond and described Bjornholt as an immediate threat to the public, FOX 10 reported.

Garcia told the court that Bjornholt allegedly mapped out an attack on a religious location. Prosecutors also said investigators found a copy of “The Anarchist Cookbook,” a controversial book featuring bomb-making instructions and historically associated with McVeigh.

According to Garcia, Bjornholt allegedly described the manual as his “Bible.”

Prosecutors said the alleged scheme called for explosives to be detonated first, followed by an accomplice using a gun to begin “picking off people.”

Authorities later recovered three firearms and ammunition from Bjornholt’s residence.

Defense attorney Chad Schell disputed the allegations, arguing that the case rests entirely on unconfirmed claims made by a former acquaintance who was upset with Bjornholt, FOX 10 reported.

Schell told the judge that the information came from a “homeless alcoholic” who had briefly stayed at Bjornholt’s home before being asked to leave late last month.

Schell said federal officials had reviewed the accusations weeks earlier. According to the defense attorney, the FBI searched Bjornholt’s home on Sept. 29, and Bjornholt voluntarily turned over his electronic devices and the passwords needed to access them.

The defense said federal investigators found no proof of terrorism or bomb-making activity and declined to bring federal charges before county authorities assumed the case several weeks later.

“There is no evidence he’s a danger to the community. What is the evidence that he’s a danger to the community? Some hearsay statements from some dude — that my client kicked out of his house two days before September 29,” Schell told the court.

“Again, the FBI served a search warrant, got all of his electronic devices. He gave them access, gave him his passwords to those devices. They went through all of those electronic devices. They didn’t see anything about terrorism. And FBI cut him loose,” he continued.

Schell further maintained that Bjornholt legally owned the three guns. He said his client’s civil rights had been restored after Bjornholt completed a sentence on a drug charge connected to a previously closed first-degree murder case. The murder allegation was dismissed because prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence, according to Schell.

The ammunition found at the residence, Schell argued, amounted only to ordinary magazine loads.

News Media has reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and FBI Phoenix for comment.

Despite prosecutors citing Bjornholt’s criminal history in arguing for a larger bond, the judge said the state’s preliminary evidence relied heavily on hearsay and set Bjornholt’s bond at $100,000, according to FOX 10.

The judge nevertheless found enough probable cause to move the case forward.

It remains unclear whether specific houses of worship were targeted in the alleged plot or whether there was a specific accomplice.

Bjornholt is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 22 for a status conference and then later for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 26.