A man from Mason, Ohio, was taken into custody for allegedly possessing a destructive device following an investigation into an improvised explosive device (IED) discovered at a soccer complex which led to the uncovering of bomb-making materials.
The individual, James River Phillips, 20, was apprehended on Thursday by the FBI Cincinnati Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with possession of an unregistered gun and possession of a destructive device.
The arrest occurred after the task force executed a federally court-ordered search in Mason that morning.
“The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested James River Phillips after he allegedly possessed a dangerous destructive device,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “The FBI and our partners collaborated to ensure his actions were halted before posing any threat to public safety.”
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An Ohio man is accused of possessing an unregistered destructive device after an investigation was conducted by the FBI and local police. The photos show an IED, a detonator and what is believed to be explosive white powder. (Federal Affidavit)
According to an affidavit filed against Phillips, a police officer from Lebanon, Ohio, discovered an IED at a soccer complex around 12:30 a.m. on September 22, 2024.
Shortly before the discovery, the officer saw two men in their early 20s exiting the parking lot of the complex in a silver SUV, which was initially parked there. The driver was described by police as having long curly hair.
The officer conducted a traffic stop and instructed the two men to vacate the parking lot since the complex was closed, as stated in the affidavit.
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After the two men left, the officer continued driving in the parking lot and discovered an IED where the SUV had been parked, as per court documents.
“The IED had wires connecting a pile of white powder to a control switch,” the affidavit explained. “The control switch had a red light on when the LPD Officer located the IED. After encountering the device, the LPD Officer tried to locate the two males but was unsuccessful. The officer contacted Butler County Bomb Squad (BCBS) to secure the IED.”
The BCBS found that the residue on the device contained nickel hydrazine nitrate, while the white powder contained erythritol tetranitrate.
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Photos recovered from iCloud suggest Phillips was manufacturing explosive devices in a shed. There were three photos found in Phillips’ iCloud account taken on Feb. 26, 2024, that suggest an explosive device was constructed in the shed. (Federal Affidavit)
During the testing of the IED detonator, an explosion occurred, causing damage to the handheld chemical identification device.
Utilizing cellular data with the FBI’s assistance, investigators traced Phillips’ phone to the parking lot between 12:15 a.m. and 12:21 a.m. The same phone purportedly sent two texts shortly after the SUV was stopped by police, one at 12:36 a.m. and another at 12:40 a.m.
On December 2, 2024, Phillips apparently obtained a driver’s license photo, which the affidavit indicated depicted him with the same curly hair observed by the officer during the encounter with the driver.
Investigators executed a search warrant on the Apple iCloud account connected to the phone, uncovering a video from April 5, 2024, showing two unidentified men in a parking lot under streetlights, near portable restrooms and a soccer net.
One of the men can be heard counting down to one, before an explosive device detonates. In another video from the same incident, an unidentified man is heard saying, “James, we gotta go,” and “James, come on.”
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Interior photos of the shed recovered from iCloud suggest the shed contains running electricity, racks for glass beakers, heated magnetic mixers and unknown chemicals and powders. (Federal Affidavit)
The video then exhibits a hole in the ground, believed to be a result of the prior explosion. The two men proceed to gather the debris and leftover components. GPS data from the video’s metadata indicates it was filmed in the parking lot of the same soccer complex in Lebanon, where the police officer encountered the IED months later, according to the affidavit.
Additional photos and videos displaying explosions were purportedly discovered on the iCloud account from July 21, 2024, including the wrecking of a car.
In one of the videos, investigators detailed that Phillips is seen holding a detonation device as another man counts down from five to one.
“After Phillips presses the detonation device, a large explosion is heard in the distance, and an unidentified male can be heard saying, ‘It blew the car above the tree line,’” as per the affidavit. “Additional photos and videos captured on July 21, 2024, show an explosion followed by images of a car that appeared to be obliterated by the explosion.”
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The investigation later unveiled to detectives that Phillips procured “precursor chemicals and materials for homemade explosives,” which were delivered to his residence in Mason and another dwelling in Oxford.
His iCloud account allegedly contained recipes and notes on crafting explosive devices, as stated in the affidavit.
Photos also purportedly suggest Phillips constructing explosive devices in a shed located in the woods.
Phillips is set to make a court appearance on Friday for a bond hearing and will be detained until then.
