Ragged Threads And Loose Ends

I haven't been able to blog as much or as often as I would have liked lately, and I've been forced to neglect many of the stories that I'd been following, some of which continue to develop. I can't write a full post about each of these stories, but I don't want to forget them altogether, so here they are: a collection of ragged threads and loose ends that have been in danger of being cut off ...

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Derrick Shareef has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after trading a pair of car stereo speakers for a box which he was told contained four grenades, a handgun and some ammunition. According to the official account, Shareef was planning to attack CherryVale Mall in Rockford, Illinois, in December of 2006. In reality, the mastermind behind the plot to bomb the mall was Jameel Chrisman, an informant sent to Rockford by the FBI to entrap Shareef, who they hoped would lead his friend, Hassan Abujihaad, to incriminate himself.

~~~

The entrapment of Shareef was part of an effort by the FBI to bolster their case against Abujihaad, a former US Navy signalman who allegedly passed secret information to a terrorist website while he was serving aboard the USS Benfold. The prosecution admitted there was no forensic footprint connecting him to the information they found when Babar Ahmad was arrested in England. Abujihaad, who despite the lack of evidence was convicted of supporting terrorism, has requested a new trial, on the grounds that no actual evidence was presented against him.

~~~

Amateur rocket-fuel experimenter Ronald Swerlein has been sentenced to 6 years probation and 200 hours of community service for making and detonating explosive compounds, in his Longmont, Colorado, home. He's also been billed $30,000 by the Longmont Police Department for the expenses the police incurred in firing seven cannisters of tear gas into his his living room, rather than knocking on the door and asking him to step outside; plus the four days they spent cataloging and taking away his his chemistry set, his library, his firearms and so on.

~~~

In Canada, a guilty verdict has been handed down against a teenager whose name cannot be published (because he's under-age), who was charged under the country's "strong" new anti-terrorism law. How strong? As Toronto's Globe and Mail reported:

Despite the fact there was no evidence that he planned, or even knew about, any specific plot, he was found guilty of participating in a terrorist group.

We discussed this case back in June when the chief witness for the prosecution admitted that the young man who was found guilty was unaware of any plot to commit acts of terrorism, that he merely went along on a camping trip with the others, who were so secretive that they spent part of their weekend eating donuts in the parking lot of a popular store.
The International Herald Tribune notes:

Despite the guilty verdict, the man, now 20 years old, has not yet been formally convicted. His conviction cannot be entered until the court reviews an abuse-of-process application from his lawyer contending that many of the group's activities were made possible by a paid police informant who, the lawyer says, committed illegal acts himself.

There's more on the story here, at the Galloping Beaver (and here too) and here, at Creekside (and thanks to McJ.)

~~~

I made an error of omission (which has been corrected) in yesterday's post, "A Formula For Endless War: The Wounded Shark, The Quest For Victory, And The Illusion Of Success", when I wrote about

a common thread running through all our wars: every piece of equipment ruined must be replaced. Every bomb used, every bullet fired, every meal eaten must be supplied by somebody who is making money on the deal.

I failed to mention, of course, the intimidation factor.

Every other country in the world must measure each action, plan, or strategic idea according to a number of factors, including whether they think the Americans will stand for it.

The bombing, invasion, destruction and subsequent occupation of Iraq -- based on no credible evidence to support any of the claims which supposedly made this course of action necessary, says to every other nation on the planet:

"Who wants to be next?"

As Jonah Goldberg explained in National Review in 2002:

I've long been an admirer of, if not a full-fledged subscriber to, what I call the "Ledeen Doctrine." I'm not sure my friend Michael Ledeen will thank me for ascribing authorship to him and he may have only been semi-serious when he crafted it, but here is the bedrock tenet of the Ledeen Doctrine in more or less his own words: "Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business." That's at least how I remember Michael phrasing it at a speech at the American Enterprise Institute about a decade ago (Ledeen is one of the most entertaining public speakers I've ever heard, by the way).

Yep. He's entertaining as all hell, for some people.

And this may be God's way of preparing them for the journey.

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Ronald Swerlein Pleads Guilty To Three Of Ten Explosives Charges; Plea Bargain Will Likely Keep Amateur Rocket Scientist Out Of Prison

Ronald Swerlein, an amateur rocket enthusiast from Longmont, Colorado, pleaded guilty last week to three counts of illegal possession of explosives, in a deal which seems likely to keep him out of prison.

He had been charged with ten counts of possession of explosives; he pleaded not guilty to those charges last December.

He had also been charged with one count of drug possession; that charge has been dismissed.

Swelein has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest, and he remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for August 8th.

If the judge accepts the agreement that has been reached between the prosecutors and Swerlein's attorney, Swerlein will face six years of probation, community service and a mental health check.

Ron Swerlein was an electrical engineer with a half a dozen patents to his name when he suffered career-ending injuries in a car accident. Unable to work, but still curious and inventive, Swerlein turned to an old hobby: chemistry. He started buying glassware and chemicals from internet suppliers, and synthesizing compounds he couldn't buy.

Swerlein could make virtually anything he wanted, apparently, including nitroglycerin.

He tested some of these compounds as potential rocket fuels, lighting small amounts of various mixtures to see how they would burn. Sometimes his fuels would burn too fast, causing a small explosion. It's not the sort of thing you normally see in a house, in a residential area, across the street from an elementary school. Some of the neighbors were concerned.

Eventually, after an unexpected explosion in the house, Swerlein moved his center of operations to his garage. There he would test potential fuels late at night, and into the wee hours -- and causing a wee explosion every now and then.

Some of his neighbors called the police, who sent a patrol car to sit and listen in the neighborhood, but the police never saw or heard any explosions, so nothing came of the neighbors' concern, initially.

Some time later, somebody else in Longmont thought it would be funny to pack some shells with gunpowder and scatter them in parking lots, where they might explode if stepped on or driven over. The police asked for help in locating any bomb-makers in the area, and once again Swerlein's neighbors mentioned the strange goings-on at his place.

This time police did a more serious investigation, which involved looking through Swerlein's garbage and culminated in a tear-gas assault on his house.

The bomb squad detonated the nitroglycerin in Swerlein's driveway, and the police took everything else that interested them. Most of the chemicals, they say, have since been destroyed.

Police have never considered Ron Swerlein a terrorist or even a potential terrorist, and his actions seem to bear out their opinion. He had made enough nitroglycerin to fuel a car-bomb, but he kept tinkering with various fuel mixtures, sometimes disturbing the peace in his sleeping neighborhood, but never hurting anybody.

A few times he even tested a fuel with a model rocket, launching it in his backyard and seeing with a thrill that it rose above his rooftop. Not a particularly severe menace to society.

The sentence Swerlein will likely receive seems fairer to me than his treatment by the police, or his treatment by the Colorado media, at least one of which printed false comments from a so-called expert who said the compounds Swelein was testing were never used in model rocketry.

Personally, I am glad to see Ron Swerlein avoid serving prison time, especially since it's so clear that he never intended to hurt anyone.

But I wonder, what if his name were Abdullah or Mohammed? What if he had brown skin, or spoke a foreign language, or read the Koran? Would he have been treated as fairly as this?

One would hope so.

~~~

eighth in a series

Ronald Swerlein Pleads Not Guilty To All Ten Explosives Charges

Amateur rocketry enthusiast Ronald Swerlein of Longmont, Colorado, appeared in Boulder District Court today and pleaded not guilty to ten counts of illegal possession of explosives.

Swerlein remains free on $50,000 bond with his trial set to begin in April, following a motions hearing in March.

Swerlein was arrested in June after two police searches of his home turned up an assortment of chemicals, some of which were described as explosives. Swerlein says he was using the chemicals to experiment with new rocket fuels.

Police searched Swerlein's home after neighbors reported seeing and hearing explosions coming from the Swerlein garage late at night. Swerlein said he was experimenting with different fuels and sometimes the fuel mixture would explode, but there was never any danger because the amounts he was using were so small.

Curiously, police Sgt. Tim Lewis said at the time that Swerlein didn't have enough explosives to mount a terrorist attack. Then the police detonated half a pound of home-made nitroglycerin in Swerlein's driveway.

According to Vanessa Miller of the Boulder Daily Camera:

[Swerlein] didn't address the court this morning, and he declined comment after the brief hearing.

Following his arrest, Swerlein told invesetigators he is “nerd” teaching himself about rocket-fuel technology, according to police records.

At the time, one of his friends told the Camera that Swerlein is a brilliant, curious man who loves to take things apart, adding that he’s just a “tinkerer.”

Police apparently believe his story; he's been free on bond since shortly after his arrest, and local police have been at pains to reassure the neighbors that they are in no danger.

I hope to have more on this story before too long.

~~~

seventh in a series

Ronald Swerlein, Amateur Rocket Scientist, To Be Arraigned December 18th On Explosives Charges

For the first time in four months, there's news about Ronald Swerlein of Longmont, Colorado [on the right in this photo], whose case we discussed quite a bit during the summer.

Swerlein, as regular readers of this page may remember, is free on bail after police raided his home in June and seized several firearms as well as a wide variety of explosive chemicals, some of which Swerlein had made himself. His neighbors had become suspicious after a series of explosions in the Swerlein garage. Swerlein, a former electrical engineer, claims he was interested in rocketry and trying to develop new high-performance rocket fuels.

Swerlein's explanation appeared bizarre at first, and it was portrayed as even more bizarre by the Longmont police and the local media. But the more I dug into it, the more sense it made. So I've been keeping a close eye on this case, in which there has been no new news since July...

... until now. Here's the news, from the Boulder Daily Camera:

Accused chemical hoarder's hearing postponed

An attorney for a man accused of having a dangerous cache of chemicals in his home asked a Boulder County District Court judge Friday for more time to read through 2,000 new pages of discovery.

Ronald Swerlein, 50, is charged with 10 felonies after police say they found more than 400 chemicals in his home at 2404 Sunset Drive [Longmont, Colorado] in June, including a half-pound of [nitroglycerine] the main ingredient in dynamite [which the police detonated in Swerlein's driveway].

Judge James Klein reset the arraignment hearing for Dec. 18.

So Ron Swerlein will be in court again -- or else his attorney, Jeffrey Larson, will be in court on his behalf -- a week before Christmas (unless the date is postponed before then). I'll be keeping my eyes open.

For a detailed look at this fascinating and largely unreported story, start here:

This Ain't Exactly Rocket Science ... Unless Of Course It Is!

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sixth in a series

This Ain't Exactly Rocket Science ... Unless Of Course It Is!

Ronald Swerlein of Longmont, Colorado, is due in Boulder County Court tomorrow (July 12), facing ten felony possession of explosives charges and a misdemeanor drug possession charge. He is currently free on $50,000 bond.

Swerlein's attorney, Jeffrey Larson, was unsuccessful in his attempt to obtain a publication ban, so the world's tiniest media circus will probably continue. And your humble scribbler will be there -- in icy spirit, if nothing else.

Police searched Swerlein's home in mid-June after neighbors reported hearing explosions in his garage, and they confiscated thousands of dollars worth of glassware and hundreds of chemicals, including half a pound of homemade nitroglycerin.

Swerlein says he was experimenting in his garage, trying to find a better rocket fuel, and his story may appear implausible at first glance. But a little bit of research (ok, quite a bit, actually) convinced me otherwise.

So this case holds a certain fascination for me -- quite apart from the astounding idea that somebody who played with homemade nitroglycerin in his garage could be free on bail, more than five years into the "war on terror".

Nobody outside of Colorado seems interested in covering this story, so you'll probably see more about it from me.

The story so far:

1) Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Police Seize Huge Cache Of Explosives From Colorado Home, But Say It's Not Enough For An Act Of Terrorism

2) Friday, June 22, 2007
Ronald Swerlein's Out On Bail And Going Home But The Neighborhood Is Safe Because The Cops Have All His Explosives, Weapons, Glassware, Magazines ...

3) Saturday, June 23, 2007
Ronald Swerlein Charged: Ten Counts Of Illegal Explosives, One Count Of Drug Possession

4) Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Ronald Swerlein Free On Bail; Court Date Set For Pending Explosives Charges

5) Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Gag Order Denied In World's Tiniest Media Circus

6) Sunday, November 3, 2007
Ronald Swerlein, Amateur Rocket Scientist, To Be Arraigned December 18th On Explosives Charges

7) Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Ronald Swerlein Pleads Not Guilty To All Ten Explosives Charges

8) Friday, June 27, 2008
Ronald Swerlein Pleads Guilty To Three Of Ten Explosives Charges; Plea Bargain Will Likely Keep Amateur Rocket Scientist Out Of Prison

Gag Order Denied In World's Tiniest Media Circus

Ronald Swerlein's defense attorney, Jeffrey Larson [left in photo] asked for a publication ban on Friday, in order to protect his client from what he called a "media circus". It's a circus in a teapot if ever there was one, as a Google News search for "Ronald Swerlein" turns up only 65 matches.

According to Victoria Camron in the Longmont Daily Times-Call,

[Defense attorney Jeffrey] Larson argued that police have released too much information in the case against Ronald Swerlein.

“The focus is primarily on the law enforcement agency, the Longmont Police Department,” Larson said.

Larson even went so far as to assert that such a ban could benefit the prosecution. But the prosecution was having none of it, saying if they wanted a gag order, they could ask for it themselves. County Judge John Stavely ruled that the court would not impose any gag order or sanctions on the proceedings.

Swerlein must find it comforting to be represented by a defense attorney who doesn't mind saying that what he wants may help the prosecution. Nonetheless, if my reading of the media coverage of the case is correct, Mr. Larson is right. The local media continues to focus on "primarily on the law enforcement agency", as all the latest reports attest.

In the only other recently-published articles, the Longmont Daily Times-Call talks about lingering feelings of insecurity among Swerlein's neighbors, and the Boulder Daily Camera tells how police came to Swerlein's home last November, during which visit Swerlein denied everything.

The Daily Camera piece, by Vanessa Miller, summarizes the previous events in this case as follows:

During the June 15 search, bomb squads, state technicians and local police closed streets and evacuated neighborhood homes so they could force Swerlein and his wife from their house with tear gas. After two multi-day searches, officers collected nearly 1,000 items including explosive compounds, guns, grenades and a "warning note."

Swerlein was charged last week with 10 felony counts of possession of an explosive or incendiary device and a misdemeanor drug charge.

Police still have seven investigators working on the case, including Swerlein's possible motivations, said police Sgt. Tim Lewis.

Swerlein has told investigators that he's a "nerd" teaching himself about rocket-fuel technology. His attorney said he had no intention of harming anyone.

Despite the fact that Swerlein's story fits what we know about the evidence perfectly, the police continue to search for alternate explanations, as the Times-Call reports:

While police continue to comb through more than 1,000 pieces of evidence in the case, investigators aren’t any closer to knowing why Swerlein might hoard and experiment with dangerous chemicals and explosives, [Sgt. Tim] Lewis said.

“We’re looking at the whys,” he said.

Coincidentally -- or not -- the local media coverage (which has been, with a few very rare exceptions, the only coverage) has portrayed Swerlein's story as implausible, with variations on this theme:

Warren Musselman, a board member of the Northern Colorado Rocketry Club, said on Tuesday that the explosive chemicals police have identified from the home are not components of fuels used in model rocketry.

“Our stuff burns at a predictable rate and creates a lot of gas,” he said. “Explosives don’t burn. They detonate.”

Musselman said chemicals like PETN and sodium azide are dangerous and are simply not model rocket fuel ingredients.

“Explosives of any kind don’t have anything to do with the rocketry hobby,” he said.

Mr. Musselman seems to represent the "tamer" side of model rocketry, where people build rockets from kits. On the other side of the coin, there are folks who design and build their own rockets, and/or design and mix their own rocket fuels. So he's only telling one side of a multi-faceted story.

And it's a story rife with misunderstanding. For instance, people normally think of nitroglycerin as a very sensitive explosive and certainly nobody would want to fly a rocket using pure nitroglycerin as fuel. But as a fuel additive it makes sense in a number of ways. Fancy that!

Here's another example: ammonium nitrate is one of the world's cheapest fertilizers but if mixed with certain additives (such as diesel fuel) it can be explosive, and it was implicated in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. But it's also used as rocket fuel -- and this Yahoo newsgroup is using it in an attempt to design a non-toxic solid fuel (which would make model rocketry safer for kids).

Thermite, another of the chemicals found in Swerlein's possession, is potentially explosive but is used in the fuel for the Space Shuttle.

PETN and sodium azide are dangerous and are not typically used in rocketry but there is no theoretical reason why they couldn't be. Plenty of other chemicals used in rocket fuel are dangerous but that doesn't disqualify them from consideration. Sodium azide in particular is intriguing because it produces a large quantity of gas quickly when it comes in contact with metal. For this reason it is widely used in airbags. Anything that produces a lot of gas quickly is at least worthy of consideration as a rocket fuel ingredient -- maybe not for the kids but certainly for the more experimentally inclined -- like these guys, maybe.

So it appears that some BS has been slung by the local press, aided perhaps by the police department. Does that make Swerlein innocent? I don't think so. If he was setting off small explosions in his garage in the middle of the night, then he was certainly causing a public nuisance, if nothing else. His neighborhood was probably not zoned to allow for rocket-fuel testing. And it appears he may have manufactured and/or owned restricted chemicals without the proper permits.

But is he a terrorist? It doesn't look that way, for several reasons. He ordered his equipment and supplies from internet vendors and had them delivered by UPS. If somebody were hiding something he wouldn't do that. Second, he kept tinkering in his garage even after he had made a half a pound of nitroglycerin. If he were trying to hurt somebody, he would have had no need to keep tinkering. According to police, he had never expressed any animosity toward any individual or group. He hadn't, in their terms, chosen a target. And he wouldn't be out on bail if he were deemed to be dangerous. (Or would he?)

On the other hand, he does appear to have been somewhat dangerous -- if only to himself. Police who searched his home said "it appeared there was bomb shrapnel embedded in a wall."

If I were a betting man I'd say Ronald Swerlein used to do his chemistry experiments in a bedroom until one day something exploded, after which his wife made him move his lab to the garage. Can you imagine?

Meanwhile the contradictions never end, even when given opportunities to do so. Police detonated what they said was half a pound of homemade nitroglycerin in Swerlein's driveway, yet Sgt. Tim Lewis reportedly told the press Swerlein had not created enough chemical explosives “for a terrorist action.”

According to a reliable source, half a pound of nitroglycerin could make a pretty fair car bomb, or take a chunk out of a building. Certainly it would make a better car bomb than we saw in London last week, none of which appear to have had any explosives at all.

At any rate, it seemed strange that a police officer running an investigation of this type would say such a thing, and on the other hand it seemed possible that he may have been misquoted. So your humble blogger asked the Longmont Police Department whether Sgt. Lewis cared to clarify his position on this point. Sgt. Lewis declined to comment on the matter.

Speaking of contradictions, Matin Siraj is currently serving 30 years in prison after being convicted of plotting to bomb the Herald Square subway station. Siraj never had any explosives, or any knowledge of explosives, or any contact with anyone who could get explosives for him. The jury heard evidence indicating that he was entrapped by an agent of the FBI, who was paid more than $100,000 for his efforts, but they convicted him anyway. And after his sentencing, when his parents started talking about entrapment, they were all arrested. The sister and the mother are out on bail, but after almost six months the father is still incarcerated without charge or hearing, much less a trial.

Meanwhile Ronald Swerlein, who made nitroglycerin in a residential neighborhood and is charged with ten felony counts of possession of explosives, is free on bail.

Swerlein is due in court again on July 12th, and I will continue to follow the story, even (or especially) if nobody else outside of Colorado does so.

[recent links]

Longmont Daily Times-Call
Gag order denied
Swerlein neighbors still worried about security

Boulder Daily Camera
Police at Ronald Swerlein's home in 2006

Rocky Mountain News
Tipsters sent cops to Longmont bomb suspect's home in November

Ronald Swerlein Free On Bail; Court Date Set For Pending Explosives Charges

Ronald Swerlein is not due in court again until July 12; until then he's free on bond and can return to his home, but he's going to have to clean up the damage from the tear gas if he wants to enjoy living there.

Swerlein was arrested ten days ago at his home in Longmont, Colorado, where he has said he was testing various chemicals for possible use in rocket fuel.

Police armed with tear gas and a search warrant found and confiscated thousands of dollars worth of laboratory glassware and an estimated 400 different chemicals, including half a pound of nitroglycerin, which they detonated in Swerlein's driveway. The rest they took with them.

Swerlein has since been charged with ten counts of possession of explosives and one count of drug possession, and is now free on bail pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled for July 12 in Boulder County Court, according to the most recent reports from Longmont and Boulder.

Even seen from this distance, it's a case full of contradictions. (We've been following the story since last Wednesday, with articles Friday and Saturday as well).

Early reports from the local newspaper mentioned Swerlein's claim that he was making rocket fuel, not bombs, but seemed to discredit his story.

For instance, on June 20, Pierrette J. Shields and Rachel Carter reported in the Longmont Daily Times-Call:

Warren Musselman, a board member of the Northern Colorado Rocketry Club, said on Tuesday that the explosive chemicals police have identified from the home are not components of fuels used in model rocketry.

“Our stuff burns at a predictable rate and creates a lot of gas,” he said. “Explosives don’t burn. They detonate.”

Musselman said chemicals like PETN and sodium azide are dangerous and are simply not model rocket fuel ingredients.

“Explosives of any kind don’t have anything to do with the rocketry hobby,” he said.

So the case against Ronald Swerlein looked open and shut at that point, but -- guess what?? -- it turned out that things are a lot more complicated than Mr. Musselman would have us believe.

There's a very fine and fuzzy line between explosives and non-explosives (and some common household items are explosive under certain conditions), and there's also a very fuzzy line between garden-variety hobbyists and experimental high-performance rocket fuel researchers (who certainly do use explosives in their fuels).

My previous articles in this series can now be seen in all their naked ignorance; on the other hand these facts surely matter much more to Ronald Swerlein, since his future may hinge on whether or not a jury considers his story plausible.

Ronald Swerlein is a former electrical engineer with a number of patents to his credit. He retired after a car accident in 2004, and he says he's been spending his time and money building (and using) a fairly sophisticated chemistry set.

Unfortunately for Swerlein, he had no better place to experiment than his garage, and every now and then one of his fuel mixtures would explode. After a while the neighbors began to figure out where the sudden noises were coming from, and they complained to the police.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Longmont, a scattering of small bombs appeared in the parking lot of a medical clinic. The miniature bombs were just shells stuffed with gunpowder, but they could have caused some damage if somebody had stepped on or driven over one, and on the first weekend of June, the police sent out a plea for information.

Less than two weeks later -- Tuesday, June 12 -- something went BOOM in the Swerlein garage, and the next day one of the neighbors called the police.

On Friday, June 15, after sifting through enough of the Swerleins' garbage to find some evidence that the man inside was potentially dangerous, police obtained a search warrant. Then they came back, surrounded the house, and asked the Swerleins to step outside. They didn't respond, and police fired seven canisters of tear gas into their home -- including one through the plate glass window in their living room -- before they changed their minds.

Taken to a local park, Ronald Swerlein was stripped and given a medical gown, so police could search his underwear! Eventually, having found no indication of violent intent, police released the Swerleins, who were free to go but not back home, where police were just beginning a series of searches and seizures that would last for five days.

Swerlein waited a while but then attempted to re-enter his home on Sunday, June 17, but the police were still in possession, and Swerlein was arrested. He was released Tueday, June 19, on $50,000 bond, and a short item appeared on the UPI wire, the only "national" coverage this story has ever received.

In fact, the UPI report was carried in a couple of American dailies (the Houston Post-Chronicle and the Washington Times) but it didn't appear anywhere else, other than the Republic of Georgia. Otherwise, there has been no national coverage, and only a few newspaper articles about this case have been published outside Colorado.

Despite the lack of national exposure, Swerlein's attorney has been complaining of what he calls a "media circus", and he has requested a publication ban in this case. The timing of his request may be a shade unfortunate for his client, not because this cold blogger has come to see Swerlein's story as entirely plausible, but -- even more importantly -- because the first detailed and sympathetic coverage of Swerlein's side of the story has finally appeared in print.

As Christine Reid reports, in the (subscription-only) Boulder Daily Camera:

Swerlein has not talked publicly about his case. His attorney, Jeffrey Larson, says people should wait until all the facts are out and not jump to conclusions.
...

Swerlein's statements to police reveal that he sees himself as a "nerd" who is interested in rocket-fuel technology and teaching himself how to make it in small doses in his garage.

Swerlein has graduate degrees in physics and electrical engineering. He was an engineer and scientist at Hewlett-Packard, which later became Agilent Technologies, in Loveland.

He retired in 2004 after a serious car accident that almost took his life and has since been a recluse. Swerlein said he worked long hours and fell asleep at the wheel one night, colliding head-on with another car.

He still takes pain medication for the serious leg injuries he sustained in the crash.

Police reported finding crushed-up pills in his pockets when they arrested him. Swerlein told them he snorted the prescription drugs to make them work more quickly and last longer.

So there's the drug charge.

Meanwhile,

Swerlein told police he was looking for hobbies to take up in his spare time and got interested in thermites, mixtures of aluminum powder and metal oxides used in welding. He said when they were lit, they would make a "whoosh" sound.

Sometimes he would stand 5 feet away and ignite the chemicals using a wire hooked to a battery. Sometimes he would use a lighter.

He told police that when he began experimenting about a year ago, he "lost containment" with a couple of projects.

The neighbors began to notice him about a year ago.

Swerlein told police that he dreamed of improving rocket fuel. He wanted to be able to walk into rocketry groups and contribute his knowledge.

And that explains why

Warren Musselman, a board member of the Northern Colorado Rocketry Club, said ... people in the small rocketry community don’t remember Swerlein attending any meetings or events.

He wasn't ready -- he simply had nothing to show them yet.

As for the tests in his garage,

He knew it could be "violent," so his tests were done with 3 to 5 grams of chemicals at a time. He surrounded chemicals with tires to absorb the blows.

He made the nitroglycerin and P.E.T.N. himself from chemicals he bought over the Internet. He told police he was proud of his accomplishments — including once firing a homemade rocket with homemade fuel over his house.

Swerlein even seems oblivious to what the neighbors were thinking -- and that fits the profile of a scientist to a tee!

Swerlein said his neighbors may have been angry with him because, about eight months ago, he had a laser light that may have disturbed some of them. He said he had been shining it on a tree because it looked "neat," police reported, but he stopped after realizing it was bothering people.

He didn't realize they were a lot more concerned about the loud noises -- most of which occurred between 11PM and 3AM, according to reports the police had on file. OOPS! Sorry about that!!

Swerlein admitted to police that there were explosives in his home, but he said he didn't want to use the word "explosive" because they were looking for a bomb-maker.

Ok, then. Semi-oblivious.

Police going into his home were safe, he said, as long as they didn't open the bottles.

But that didn't stop them, as Christine Reid reported that they took two small samples from each bottle and destroyed the rest.

Most of the chemicals they destroyed are not regulated; Swerlein had every right to own them. He must be very upset. But the police are not concerned about sending him back into the neighborhood. In fact they've held a public meeting to convince the other residents that everything is safe and there's no need to worry.

From the little I happen to know about the case, I tend to agree with the police that the neighbors are not likely in any danger, and not only because the police have all his chemicals (or at least the samples they haven't destroyed) as well as the weapons, ammunition and other items that were confiscated from the Swerlein house.

But also -- and this appears to be a key factor in the story -- Ronald Swerlein has never expressed any animosity toward anyone, and as police phrase it, he has not "chosen a target". In other ways he seems to fit the profile of an amateur scientist much better than the profile of a mad bomber.

In addition, he appears to have bought all his supplies openly, through internet supply stores sending UPS shipments to his house -- not the pattern a furtive bomb-maker would follow.

And clearly, if he wanted to hurt people, he had no need to keep tinkering around in his garage. The homemade nitroglycerin the police detonated in his driveway would have made a fine car-bomb, or could have taken a chunk out of a building. And that wasn't the only explosive compound the police found -- clearly he could have taken several chunks out of several buildings. But Ronald Swerlein doesn't appear to have been thinking in those terms at all.

In the canse of the bombs in the parking lot, police say they do not consider Swerlein a suspect. It's hard to imagine that stuffing gunpowder in brass shells would seem very exciting to a guy who can make his own nitroglycerin. Still, I give the police credit for not trying to hang the parking-lot bombs on Swerlein. Surely Police Sgt. Tim Lewis would love to solve both cases. But clearly he realizes that the only way to do so is to find the other guy, too.

Further details may be forthcoming -- especially if no publication ban is enforced -- and I will endeavor to keep you posted.

But at this point we're left with a seemingly endless series of unanswered questions, among them: What is Sgt. Lewis dealing with? Two bombers in one small city? Or one bomber and an amateur rocket-fuel chemist?

At the moment, my money is on the latter. But we shall see ...

[all the recent links]

Boulder Daily Camera:
Swerlein armory baffles neighbors

Longmont Daily Times-Call:
Longmont Explosives Investigation
Ex-engineer faces 10 counts for possession of explosives
'I am not sure I feel all that safe’

Rocky Mountain News:
Longmont man in court today in explosives raid

Casper (Wyoming) Star Tribune:
Bombmaker free on bail

KKTV News (Colorado Springs / Pueblo):
Longmont Man Charged Over Explosives

CBS4 (Denver):
Longmont Man Charged With Possessing Explosives

FOX-31 (Colorado):
Longmont Man Charged With Possessing Illegal Explosives

KJCT (Grand Junction / Montrose):
Longmont man charged with possessing illegal explosives

9 NEWS (Colorado):
Man charged after explosives pulled out of home

Ronald Swerlein Charged: Ten Counts Of Illegal Explosives, One Count Of Drug Possession

The continuing saga of Ronald Swerlein continues to unfold and the media splash remains confined within Colorado state lines. Ronald Swerlein appeared in court on Friday and was charged with ten counts of illegal possession of explosives and one count of illegal drug possession. In this post, excerpts and links to the newest handful of reports, all from news sources in Colorado, as well as a few comments about aspects of this story that make you go "Hmmmm...."

The snazziest graphic of the day comes (with a peacock) from Chris Vanderveen at 9 News dot com in Colorado whose headline reads:

Man charged after explosives pulled out of home

Boulder County prosecutors have charged a man with 10 counts of illegal explosives possession on Friday.

Ronald Swerlein, 50, offered no comment as he, his wife, and his attorney walked into a Boulder County courtroom Friday afternoon.

His attorney, Jeffrey Larson, did say in court that he believes Swerlein "has no intention of harming anybody or frightening anybody."

Over the weekend, Longmont Police say they pulled out from Swerlein's home more than 200 chemicals, numerous guns, and even a few magazines connected with eco-terrorist organizations. In court documents Swerlein has reportedly told police he was interested in model rocketry.

Police have not said if they think Swerlein posed a threat to anyone other than himself.

Police first searched Swerlein's home on June 15 after a neighbor reported hearing three explosions at the house three days earlier.

Swerlein will be back in court next month.

Technically it is true that police searched Swerlein's home after receiving a report three days earlier. It is also technically true that police searched Swerlein's home after 9/11, or that police searched Swerlein's home after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, for that matter. Personally, when I think of this case in its proper historical context, I believe it's important to note that police searched Ronald Swerlein's home after Lincoln was assassinated.

If you get my drift.

This short report gives no hint that police had received 15 reports of explosions in Swerlein's neighborhood dating back to January of 2006. Regular readers of this frozen page know that already, of course, because they've already read "Ronald Swerlein's Out On Bail And Going Home But The Neighborhood Is Safe Because The Cops Have All His Explosives, Weapons, Glassware, Magazines ...".

It also doesn't mention the one drug-related charge. Ahem. Next up in our roundup of the Colorado regional media Swerlein extravaganza is a report from the AP via KJCT-8 (ABC, Grand Junction / Montrose):

Longmont man charged with possessing illegal explosives

A Longmont man accused of keeping explosive chemicals and handguns in his home was charged today with ten counts of possessing illegal explosives and one count of drug possession.

Fifty-year-old Ronald Swerlein, a retired electrical engineer, was arrested last Sunday after local and federal agencies spent the weekend searching his home. Neighbors had reported hearing three explosions at the house three days earlier.

Authorities says they found more than 400 chemicals in Swerlein's house, including homemade nitroglycerin. Officers say they also found model rockets, rocket kits and engines, a launching pad for model rockets and books on homemade explosives.

They also reported finding magazines from the Animal Liberation Front, which the FBI considers to be a terrorist group.

Swerlein told police he was developing fuel for model rockets.

Homemade nitroglycerin?

That's the first indication I've seen that Swerlein's nitroglycerin was homemade.

Why would you make nitroglycerin?

Because it's not too difficult to make and you can't legally buy it.

How much of it would you need? Police reportedly found half a pound of it. Would that be enough for a model rocket hobby?

It would, and it would also be enough to make a good-sized car bomb!

If you want to fuel a rocket, you need a fuel stable enough not to explode on the way to the launch pad, no? Police detonated Swerlein's nitroglycerin -- half a pound of it -- in his driveway last Saturday, because it's so unstable they couldn't risk moving it! How could something this flaky serve as a rocket fuel?

It may not be all that simple!

I asked my science advisor several questions along these lines and here's what I learned:

First of all you have to understand how much difference there is between a rocket and a bomb. Think of fireworks: a rocket with a bomb on it. The rocket has to fly. It has to have a long powerful steady thrust in order to go up in the air. If the fuel burns too fast -- if it explodes -- it ruins the rocket and it doesn't fly anywhere. In effect it becomes a bomb. Heck, it already is a bomb; it becomes more dangerous because it's going to explode on the ground rather than up in the air.

OOOhhh! Science! ... Seriously, though: my chemistry background is not too bad and my science advisor has a PhD so having him around helps a lot.

Meanwhile back in media-land, FOX 31 has the most detailed coverage of the three television reports that came in late last night:

Longmont Man Charged With Possessing Illegal Explosives

A Longmont man accused of keeping explosive chemicals and handguns in his home was charged Friday with 10 counts of possessing illegal explosives and one count of drug possession.

Ronald Swerlein, 50, a retired electrical engineer, was arrested June 17 after local and federal agencies spent the weekend searching his home. Neighbors had reported hearing three explosions at the house three days earlier.

Authorities said they found more than 400 chemicals in Swerlein's house, including homemade nitroglycerin and MEKP, a volatile chemical that had been stabilized and hidden in the basement.

Officers said they also found model rockets, rocket kits and engines, a launching pad for model rockets, books on homemade explosives, expensive chemistry glassware, a handwritten "to-do" list and warning note, flare guns, a Taser weapon and three metal grenade shells.

They also reported finding magazines from the Animal Liberation Front, which the FBI considers to be a terrorist group.

Swerlein told police he was developing fuel for model rockets. He and his lawyer, Jeffrey Larson, declined to comment when they walked into a Boulder County courtroom Friday.

Larson has said he believes Swerlein's neighborhood is safe.

This is the first report I've seen that mentioned

model rockets, rocket kits and engines, a launching pad for model rockets

... and it's not surprising when little bits of evidence dribble out here and there; in fact it's interesting to watch.

Speaking of interesting, most of the detail so far has come from Pierrette J. Shields of The Daily Times-Call who filed this report prior to Swerlein's court appearance:

‘I am not sure I feel all that safe’: Explosives arrest rattles neighbors

Longmont detectives are trying to make sense of evidence seized from the home, Lewis told residents. None of it so far indicates Swerlein had any plans to use the explosives outside of his own yard, he said.

“Truly, we have that he was doing this as one of his hobbies and his projects,” Lewis said.

Police have cleared the house and Swerlein and his wife may move back in and begin cleaning the mess left behind by searches and tear gas if they choose. That left some neighbors uneasy.

“What if he wants to get revenge on the neighbors who turned him in?” neighborhood resident Dennis Bruns asked.

Butler said he empathizes with neighbors, but said the police do not have the authority to keep him out the the neighborhood or his home.

“We do not believe he will be able to do what he has been doing in the past,” Butler said. “We will be doing extra patrols in the area.”

Lewis noted that Swerlein’s bond conditions require that he not possess chemicals or weapons. Swerlein has not been charged or tried and has a right to be presumed innocent, Lewis noted. He will not be under police surveillance and control.

I'm anxious to see what Pierrette Shields will have next. I'm especially hoping for an answer to the question lingering in my mind at the moment:

Nobody so far who has reported anything about Swerlein having been remanded or anything to that effect; presumably he is still out on $50,000 bail and still free to clean up the damage from the tear gas and resume his normal peaceful life as it was ... or as it would have been without any chemicals or weapons or magazines ... is Ronald Swerlein still free on $50,000 bond?

In the Rocky Mountain News, Vanessa Miller reports:

Longmont man in court today in explosives raid

Longmont police Sgt. Tim Lewis said he expects Swerlein will be charged with more than two counts of possession and use of explosives — felony charges carrying a prison sentence of two to 12 years.

Swerlein was in fact charged with ten counts of explosives violations and one count of drug possession.

Swerlein paid the required 10 percent of his $50,000 bond to leave the Boulder County Jail on Tuesday.

Is that right? Did he really pay only 10% of the $50,000 bond the judge set? If I'm reading this right, that's $5000 bail, and remember that even after being charged he may still be free on until his next court appearance, as far as we know ...

Now my poor frozen brain comes screeching to a halt and says:

Now just hang on a minute!! Let's speculate just this once, shall we?

What if -- instead of Ronald Swerlein -- this man's name was Abdul Muhammed?

How long do you suppose it would take before he was living on a tropical island, enjoying some lemon chicken sweetened by a choice of two desserts?

How can I ever recover? Oooh. Perhaps I can't!! ;-( Because Vanessa Miller also says:

Among the chemical brews found in the tri-level house, police reported, were nitroglycerin, the main ingredient in dynamite, and M.E.K.P., the explosive linked to the liquid ban on air travel.

Ahem. If I may...

Not to blow my own nose or anything like that, but I happen to have written a sixteen-part series on the so-called "liquid bombers", whose alleged plot was reportedly foiled in August, 2006 and which led to the current so-called 3-1-1 carry-on restrictions.

The alleged plot was supposedly foiled after the arrest of Rashid Rauf, the so-called "ringleader" or "mastermind" or "messenger" but certainly a "key person" and almost always fingered as "the al-Q'aeda connection" to the alleged plot.

Rashid Rauf is currently in a Pakistani prison charged with possession of 29 bottles of hydrogen peroxide for the purposes of terrorism. One of the questions that repeatedly surfaces in my mind with respect to this case runs: How could 29 bottles of hydrogen peroxide in Pakistan blow up 10 or 12 airplanes headed to the USA from Britain?

So it's a great big mystery and a fascinating (though sickening) one, and to make a long story shorter, I have read and squirreled away hundreds of articles about Rashid Rauf and the so-called "Liquid Bombers" and this is the first time I have ever seen MEKP mentioned in connection with this alleged plot ... so just before my chilled and tiny brain went completely hypothermic, I asked The Google:

"Did I miss a connection somewhere? Do you know anything about Rashid Rauf and MEKP?"

And The Google said:

"Yes! those names appear together on two pages!"

I was shocked!! Shocked, I tell you!!

"Two whole pages?"

I exclaimed!

"What on Earth do they say?"

The Google replied:

One says "If it was a peroxide based liquid explosive I would have thought they would have been using MEKP" ...

and the other says "Liquid Bomber exposed as ISI agent / plot was used to renew fledging support for WOT"

Well as you must have guessed I could go on and on, but that's my story for today -- a story of Ronald Swerlein, who would surely be looking at the world through a narrow slot if he were fortunate enough to be born under a different name, or in a different skin ... and a story of a nearly frozen blogger and The Google. working together to catapult the propaganda -- right back over the fence.

And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get colder...

~~~

[ related posts ]

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Police Seize Huge Cache Of Explosives From Colorado Home, But Say It's Not Enough For An Act Of Terrorism

Friday, June 22, 2007
Ronald Swerlein's Out On Bail And Going Home But The Neighborhood Is Safe Because The Cops Have All His Explosives, Weapons, Glassware, Magazines ...

Ronald Swerlein's Out On Bail And Going Home But The Neighborhood Is Safe Because The Cops Have All His Explosives, Weapons, Glassware, Magazines ...

Police have cleaned out all the explosives, weapons, ammunition, volatile chemicals, and much else from the home of Ronald Swerlein, and now the 50-year-old former electrical engineer, who is currently free on $50,000 bond, will return to his home in Longmont, Colorado. But the police don't want people to be afraid, so they're having a public meeting -- which will almost certainly be finished by the time you read this -- just to assure everyone it's quite safe to let Swerlein stay in his house until he gets his day in court.

Really. There's nothing to worry about. The police detonated his nitroglycerin in his driveway last Saturday evening (and they evacuated the neighborhood first, so you know they care about the people's safety!), and everything else they confiscated was stable enough for them to take with them, so there's no need for concern. Seriously. Would I lie to you? Would they?

Listen, they even itemized what they took out of the house:

Along with about 400 different chemicals and books on homemade explosives, police also took three metal grenade shells, 15 boxes of military fuel shells, a Glock 22 handgun, multiple flare guns, multiple stun guns, a Taser and cartridges, a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a five-shot revolver, a 9-mm semiautomatic, a .40-caliber Glock, a .38-caliber revolver, a Colt .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol, several other guns, and boxes of ammunition for the guns.

All this is according to Pierrette J. Shields in the June 21 Daily Times-Call, who can't avoid tantalizing us:

Police also took a handwritten “to-do” list and a “warning note,” although investigators would not discuss the contents of either.

But police don't expect any problem, and they're telling the neighbors there's no danger. Here's Pierrette Shields again, with Rachel Carter this time, in the same June 21 The Daily Times-Call:

Police meeting today with Swerlein neighbors

Police will meet tonight with neighbors of the man suspected of mixing explosives in his house and hoarding a huge cache of chemicals, weapons and bomb-making literature.

Some of Ronald Swerlein’s neighbors are concerned about their children’s safety and have asked about the possibility of booby traps in the neighborhood or nearby park, Longmont Police Sgt. Tim Lewis said.

There is no danger, Lewis said, but he and Police Chief Mike Butler wants to meet with residents to field questions and address concerns.

Should be a grand time. I wish I could be there. I'll keep my eyes open for reports.

Speaking of reports: this story still has not made a single dent in any national media, and the only coverage it is getting outside of Colorado has come from a short UPI item which was carried in the Republic of Georgia but not in the State of Georgia.

Really. There's no danger.

Police spent the weekend searching Swerlein’s home at 2404 Sunset Drive after a neighbor reported hearing explosions at his house June 12. Investigators returned to the house Tuesday night for a second search, which yielded more weapons and chemicals.

Neighbors heard and felt explosions and saw smoke rising from Swerlein’s backyard or billowing from his garage shortly afterward in recent months, police said.

Explosions in recent months? I guess that depends on what you mean by recent.

Just two days ago (June 19), Betsy Lehndorff and Tillie Fong reported in the Rocky Mountain News:

Backyard blasts lead to jail

In Longmont, neighbor Sean Hardy, 25 [...] said that he and other neighbors had lodged noise complaints about the Swerleins since last July.

"We had police stop by and neighbors stop by," he said. "We've even had a cop sit outside all night one night a month ago. The wheels move slow."

The wheels move slow indeed. How recent?

Here's John C. Ensslin in the Rocky Mountain News, three days ago (June 18):

Arrest follows series of blasts in Longmont neighborhood

Several neighbors said they've heard explosions as far back as January 2006. The complaints are what led police to obtain the search warrant.

Last summer, next-door neighbor Gabriel Mohedano thought someone was setting off Fourth of July fireworks. But fellow neighbor Jessica Mendez said it was nothing like firecrackers. "It was a big old boom," she said.

A big old boom indeed! In the middle of the night when all's quiet, or nearly so, and all of a sudden there's a big old boom! How many people would have noticed something like that? ... in a residential neighborhood on the edge of a small city?

Oh, no!!

Police received at least 15 reports of explosions, fireworks or shots fired in the area during the past 18 months, according to Lewis’ search warrant affidavit.

A resident reported “loud explosions at night” near Raber Park in September 2006, according to police. The resident told officers the explosions were much more powerful than fireworks; not only did they wake his family at night, but the explosions spurred residents to “check gas line connections and electrical transformer boxes in the neighborhood,” according to police reports.

Police received another complaint about late-night explosions in November. In early December, police said they were monitoring the area.

And

Hardy said the Swerleins were fairly reclusive, and that he hardly ever saw them, except when Ronald Swerlein would pick up the mail.

So they weren't much of a social couple, were they? But people to keep an eye on, nonetheless, no doubt.

Or an ear!

The explosions usually occurred between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., neighbors said.

What did he do, wait till his wife was asleep and then hope nobody would hear him?

Hardy said he noticed that Ronald Swerlein received a lot of packages.

"It was three to four times a week from a UPS truck," he said. "He had a lot of stuff delivered."

A lot of stuff indeed.

And guess what else? Swerlein had magazines!!

Here's more scary reportage from Pierrette Shields in the June 21 The Daily Times-Call:

Link to animal extremists probed: Magazines from ‘domestic terrorism threat’ found in Sunset Drive Home

LONGMONT — Ronald Swerlein kept magazines in his home from the Animal Liberation Front, a group the FBI calls a “leading domestic terrorism threat,” according to police.

Officers seized the magazines from Swerlein’s home at 2404 Sunset Drive during a second search Tuesday night.

Police first searched the 50-year-old’s home over the weekend and arrested him Sunday on suspicion of possessing and making explosives.

Swerlein has a right to have any publication, but it is a piece of the investigation that officers must check out, said Longmont Police Sgt. Tim Lewis.

“I have found no targets, no specific intent to harm anyone or anything with his activity,” Lewis said.
...

“He wasn’t interacting with anyone else to show them his explosives,” Lewis said. “He was doing them on his own.”

So there you have the probable explanation. He hadn't selected (that is to say, as far as the police know, he hadn't selected) any targets, and he hadn't expressed any animosity toward anyone. Plus, he wasn't showing anyone what he was doing, and he bought his multi-thousand-dollar setup all by himself, with his own money, bit by bit, three or four UPS shipments a week ...

So it's not terrorism, and he's ok, and we're ok, and how about that? Except for those pesky magazines...

I'll have more about this very bizarre case later. A lot more, it looks like ... especially since nobody else is covering it except the folks in Colorado!

~~~

My previous post on this subject, "Police Seize Huge Cache Of Explosives From Colorado Home, But Say It's Not Enough For An Act Of Terrorism", has several interesting links, and it has been updated with new information quite recently.

Wow, what a weird case!

And no MSM coverage at all!!!

... except for that one UPI report ... which is now also online at the website of the Bend (Oregon) Weekly.

AHA! IT'S THE LIBERAL MEDIA AT WORK AGAIN!!

Police Seize Huge Cache Of Explosives From Colorado Home, But Say It's Not Enough For An Act Of Terrorism

[UPDATED June 22. See note [*] below.]

A Colorado man is free on $50,000 bond after a police search of his house discovered a cache of weapons, explosives and volatile chemicals.

Ronald Swerlein of Longmont, CO, attracted the attention of his neighbors by setting off explosions in his garage. Police had been seeking tips after several small homemade explosives were found in a local parking lot nearly three weeks ago.

A police search of the Swerlein home turned up hundreds of volatile chemicals and other weapons, as well as books about bomb-making and revenge.

Swerlein says he's been experimenting with various chemicals to use as rocket fuel.

According to reports from Colorado, police confiscated nitroglycerin, ammonium nitrate, PETN, thermite, and sodium azide; an early report from Colorado said that none of these are used as rocket fuels. [* But this remark may have been interpreted -- in any case the assertion has been convincingly disputed and there's an important update below.] Police also discovered laboratory-grade glassware worth thousands of dollars.

Ammonium nitrate is the basic ingredient in so-called fertilizer bombs; PETN is an ingredient in plastic explosives; sodium azide produces a toxic gas when it comes into contact with metal; and nitroglycerin is a well-known (and extremely unstable) liquid explosive. Thermite, as most 9/11 researchers know, can be used to cut steel and may have been involved in the demolition of the three World Trade Center buildings which disintegrated on September 11, 2001.

Police detonated the nitroglycerin in Swerlein's driveway.

Longmont Police Sgt. Tim Lewis said the police had seized "cartloads of weapons ... more than I have ever seen in our armory."

Despite the size of the cache and the volatility of the chemicals involved, Sgt. Lewis told reporters that Swerlein had not created enough chemical explosives “for a terrorist action,” although he did have enough to damage his home and others in his neighborhood.

Sgt. Lewis also said, "This investigation is still in its infancy. We're still trying to determine what his intent was."

Considering that the perpetrators of the most extravagant terrorist attack ever committed on American soil were allegedly armed only with box-cutters, it is incomprehensible that a cache of weapons and explosives larger than the Longmont police have in their armory could be described as insufficient for a terrorist action.

How much nitroglycerin does one need to commit an act of terrorism? Or does that depend on one's religion or the color of one's skin?

And why has this case attracted so little national attention? Or does that depend on religion and skin color, too?

~~~ selected links ~~~

7 News (Denver), June 3: Homemade Explosive Devices Put Authorities, Neighbors On Alert

7 News (Denver), June 16: Homeowner Arrested After Explosives Found In Longmont

Longmont Daily Times-Call, June 18: Swerlein has first day in court

7 News (Denver), June 18: Longmont Homeowner Goes To Court In Explosives Probe

UPI, June 19: Homemade explosions land man in jail

Longmont Daily Times-Call, June 19: ‘Cartloads’ of weapons seized

Longmont Daily Times-Call, June 19: Police: Chemicals more than rocket hobby

Longmont Daily Times-Call, June 19: Suspect in explosive case out on bond

Longmont Daily Times-Call, June 19: Longmont neighborhood won't be evacuated

Rocky Mountain News (Denver), June 20: Longmont bomb team redeploys

Longmont Daily Times-Call, June 20: More explosives found

~~~ UPDATE ~~~

Apparently my original sources and I were wrong about which substances confiscated from Ronald Swerlein are actually used as rocket fuels.

I've received a well-documented (and most welcome) email from a model rocket enthusiast, who says:

Ammonium Nitrate is a major component in the making of rocket fuels. This is common knowledge throughout the pyrotechnic community.

Nitroglycerine is commonly used in conjunction with Nitrocellulose to make many different types of propellants for firearms and rockets.

Thermite, a mixture of Iron Oxide and Aluminum powder (other mixtures similar to this do exist), is also used in high performance rocket fuels.

I didn't know any of this but the links appear to be solid. The email continues:

As for the PETN and Sodium Azide, those are definitely not used in rocket fuels and are illegal.

Asked for further details, my source (who seems more credible all the time) replied:

My former job required me to handle explosives on a regular basis. PETN is made from the nitration of pentaerythritol and is used in the military as a breaching explosive and in detonation cord. You can find tons of information on it here.

Sodum Azide is not used in the explosive industry, as it is very sensitive and toxic. It does, however, have explosive properties and is labeled as a high explosive. It is also used to make airbags. More info on that can be found here.

If someone does have these in their possession, chances are they are doing it illegally, unless they have an ATF issued explosives license and have a good reason to have it, which I doubt Swerlein had.

So the article by Victoria A.F. Camron in the Daily Times-Call,

Police: Chemicals more than rocket hobby may not be entirely correct when it says

Swerlein told police he purchased the chemicals to experiment in model rocket fuel technology, but Lewis said PETN and nitroglycerin are not used for model rockets.

I suspect there may be a significant difference between "high-performance rocket fuel" such as that used by the Space Shuttle and fuel used in "model rockets" ... so I'm still looking into this angle ... and you can expect more updates soon!

Here's another relevant quote, from an article by Pierette Shields of June 20:

Warren Musselman, a board member of the Northern Colorado Rocketry Club, said on Tuesday that the explosive chemicals police have identified from the home are not components of fuels used in model rocketry.

“Our stuff burns at a predictable rate and creates a lot of gas,” he said. “Explosives don’t burn. They detonate.”

Was Mr. Mussleman speaking of all the explosives found at the Swerlein home, or maybe he meant to phrase it differently? He went on to explain:

Musselman said chemicals like PETN and sodium azide are dangerous and are simply not model rocket fuel ingredients.

“Explosives of any kind don’t have anything to do with the rocketry hobby,” he said.

I was always under the impression that explosives had no value as fuel and that's why they were shunned -- for destroying the rockets they were supposedly about to launch! But I'm learning more and more about it and we'll probably have more updates soon.

See also:

Ronald Swerlein's Out On Bail And Going Home But The Neighborhood Is Safe Because The Cops Have All His Explosives, Weapons, Glassware, Magazines ...