Guilty plea in MLK Day parade bomb

SPOKANE, Wash. - A man with extensive ties to white supremacists pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he planted a bomb along a Martin Luther King's Birthday parade route in Spokane, Wash., targeting minorities.

Kevin Harpham, 37, reached a deal with federal prosecutors for a recommended sentencing range of 27 to 32 years in prison just days before his trial was to begin in U.S. District Court. The pipe bomb was loaded with lead fishing weights coated in a chemical and could have caused mass casualties, prosecutors said.

Harpham told U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush that it took him about a month to build the bomb. He acknowledged placing the device along the parade route in an attempt to commit a hate crime. The backpack bomb was discovered by parade workers and disabled before it could explode.

"This community was terrorized on Jan. 17 when this occurred," U.S. Attorney Mike Ormsby said after the hearing. "Hopefully, the healing that needs to occur as a result of this happening can begin." Harpham acted alone, Ormsby said.

The detonator was a remote car starter purchased over the Internet. The shrapnel that would have maimed victims was lead fishing weights purchased from Wal-Mart. Harpham's DNA was on the handle of the backpack that held the bomb.

After the arrest, officers found deleted photos in a digital camera that included pictures of Harpham at the parade, of young black children gathering for the march, and of a Jewish man who was wearing a yarmulke.

"He told others he was a white supremacist and white separatist," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Harrington said.

Ormsby said Harpham has offered no explanation for why he chose to commit a hate crime now. Harpham spoke in a clear voice when he pleaded guilty to each of the two counts. He will be sentenced Nov. 30.