Florida man accused of sending bomb threats to churches: 'I am the donation bomber'
COCOA, Fla. - A man was arrested after he allegedly left packages at two Brevard County churches that contained threatening notes and bomb threats, according to deputies.
Timothy Stamant was arrested and charged with sending written threats to kill and disturbing the peace at a religious institution after the incident that unfolded on Sunday, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
The 63-year-old man from Lake Wales, Florida, was caught leaving two packages at two different churches in Cocoa – Clearlake Baptist Church and Shield of Face Ministries, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said. Inside the packages were handwritten notes that included several alleged threats, including "I am the donation bomber" and threats of bombing "all woke people."
Ocala elementary school principal accused of hitting, choking, slapping student
The packages were dropped off during Sunday morning services, and both had to be evacuated "due to the nature of the notes and for the safety of the citizens attending," according to Stamant's arrest affidavit.
"I will tell you that there were all sorts of notes inside the packages, almost what I would call a manifesto, if you will, of him hating on everybody," Sheriff Ivey said. "And when I say hatred on everybody, I mean, he was, he was mainly targeting what he was calling woke-ism. He was targeting, he was angry over taxes, over grifters, over the Ukraine situation. Even at George Soros – which, who isn't mad at George Soros? But still – this is not how you handle those things."
Stamant said he wanted these churches "to be aware of what is going on around the Black community and they need to be aware," the affidavit said. Additionally, he allegedly "expressed his concerns that the United States Government is not doing their job and he is tired of all the corruption."
Florida man allegedly waves gun at bartenders who told him bar was closing: 'Who needs to leave?'
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office's Explosive Ordinance Disposal team arrived at both churches and ultimately determined that both packages were not a threat.
Deputies also responded to Stamant's home, which was about a mile away from the churches he allegedly threatened. Sheriff Ivey noted that he wasn't "the sharpest tool in the shed" because his name and address were on a document inside the package, allowing deputies to track him down. The white van spotted in the churches' surveillance videos was also registered in his name, deputies said.
Upon speaking to him, he confessed to everything. He also said he "probably should not have used the word ‘bomb’ and he had no intentions of harming anyone or the church. He was just trying to get his point across," the arrest affidavit said.
Stamant also added that he's been writing notes and delivering them to local churches for months, but this is "the first time anyone has complained about it," the affidavit added.
Stamant remains in custody in Brevard County without bond.
Florida tourists arrested after alleged brawl over Disney World tickets
"This was not only idiotic, it was dangerous. And it was designed to put fear in people's minds. And we're not going to have that. We shouldn't have that going on anywhere in the world. We're certainly not going to have it going on here in town. If you target one of our religious institutions, we are going to lock your butt up and we're going to put you in jail. And that's exactly what our team did," Sheriff Ivey said.
