A Newton man is facing multiple charges in connection with a scheme to conceal his efforts to develop bomb making skills after he triggered an explosion in his dorm room at the University of Chicago, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy’s office said.
Aram Brunson, 21, is charged with falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact by trick, scheme or device and making false statements to federal officials.
In January 2023, officials said he trigged an explosion in his dorm room at the University of Chicago. In the dorm room, officials said Brunson was constructing a large black powder device when he accidentally set it off, burning his room and causing the evacuation of the dormitory. He told law enforcement that he was just mimicking a prank he had seen on the internet.
But officials said Brunson “sought to engage in what he described as revolutionary direct action and terrorism in support of Armenian causes.”
According to the charging documents, Brunson’s bomb-making activities were linked to his desire to take militant action against Azerbaijanis and others who pose a threat to ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.
He also made videos of himself teaching others how to make explosive devices and rig doors and desks with grenades, Levy’s office said. The district attorney’s office claim his internet searches suggest that he planned to “take action against foreign diplomatic facilities in the United States.”
In August 2023, Brunson was leaving Boston to travel to Armenia but his bags set off explosive alarms “for an unusual and highly volatile explosive” at Logan International Airport, Levy’s office said. He told Customs and Border Protection officials that he had no idea how or why traces of the explosive material came to be on and in his bags, according to officials.
Police searched the man’s Newton home and found a “detailed recipe” for making that explosive and a bomb dog detected three locations in the bedroom.
“It is alleged that Mr. Brunson crossed the line between political expression and mobilization, by taking affirmative steps to carry out unlawful acts. While radical political views may be offensive, they are constitutionally protected. However, experimenting with extremely dangerous explosives in support of those views and then engaging in false statements about your conduct is crossing the line. We will investigate and prosecute anyone who crosses that line in order to keep our communities safe,” Levy said.
Each of the charges provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
