FBI Arrests Five in Alleged Plot to Blow Up Brecksville Bridge

The FBI has arrested five people who are accused of conspiring to use explosives on a bridge in Brecksville in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The FBI said in a press release the public was not in danger, and an undercover FBI employee had controlled the explosive devices. In addition, the explosives were inoperable.

The arrests were made Monday night by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, an FBI press release said.

Arrested were: Douglas L. Wright, 26, Brandon L. Baxter, 20, and Anthony Hayne, 35. The three are being charged with conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce.

Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, also were arrested. Charges are pending.

The men had been monitored by local law enforcement before the arrests. A criminal complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland this morning. The men will appear before a federal magistrate in U.S. District court today.

The defendants considered a variety of plots in the Cleveland area before settling on the state Route 82 bridge from Brecksville to Sagamore Hills in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the release said. For more details on the five locations they targeted, see The Plain Dealer's coverage.

The three who are charged with conspiracy are self-proclaimed anarchists.

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