Trans Antifa member convicted of bombing Alabama AG’s office sentenced to 9 years in prison

A transgender-identifying individual with alleged links to Antifa was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on Thursday for detonating an improvised explosive device outside the Alabama Attorney General's office in Montgomery earlier this year.

Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 27, of Irondale, Alabama, and identifies as trans nonbinary, was indicted in April on charges of malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device. On February 24, Calvert placed a homemade explosive device, packed with nails and screws for shrapnel, outside the Attorney General’s downtown office. Calvert lit the fuse and fled the scene. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

"Calvert admitted to manufacturing the device and to using nails and screws as shrapnel,” a press release from the Department of Justice said.

According to court documents and Calvert’s plea agreement, stickers with messages such as "support your local Antifa" were placed on nearby buildings by Calvert prior to the explosion. Despite the stickers, Calvert denied affiliation with Antifa in his plea agreement.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the attack, saying, “Kyle Calvert attacked the Alabama Attorney General’s Office with a shrapnel-filled explosive and then fled the scene, but this sentence ensures he will not escape accountability for his crime. Acts of violence like this one against our public institutions endanger public servants and entire communities, and they must not be tolerated.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray added, “Today’s sentencing is the final step holding Kyle Calvert accountable for detonating a shrapnel-filled explosive device outside a public office in downtown Montgomery. This case demonstrates the FBI’s continued commitment to working with our partners to bring to justice anyone who attempts violence to injure or intimidate members of our community.”