NY Post
A Florida man suspected of being affiliated with Antifa was busted near a Jan. 6 anniversary rally in Florida carrying a homemade pipe bomb and a detailed plan of “direct action,” authorities said. Garrett James Smith was arrested Thursday — his 22nd birthday — as a local congressman joined more than 80 others at a rally supporting a member of the Oath Keepers being held on Capitol riot charges. Officers chased Smith — who “stuck out” dressed all in black, including a ski mask — when he suddenly sprinted away from the rally outside Pinellas County Jail, local Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told a press conference. Officers then found a homemade pipe bomb in his backpack, which “had the potential to be very harmful,” the sheriff warned. “It could have been very destructive, and he could have hurt a lot of people,” Gualtieri said, adding that he was certain Smith was “prepared” to set off the bomb before he was spooked and fled. Alongside the bomb, officers found a handwritten “direct action checklist” detailing the armor he needed, such as a gas mask, duct tape and flammable rags, the sheriff said. Smith also had a black helmet decorated with three red arrows in a circle, the sheriff said of the “Iron Front” logo widely used by Antifa. The suspect had until several months ago been based in Portland, the troubled Oregon city that saw nightly riots by the left-wing militant group.
