Bomb attempt at MLK march

Federal prosecutors revealed today that domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham took pictures of himself at the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in which he is charged with leaving a bomb along its route.

The future of the top federal public defender in Eastern Washington could be in doubt, with the board that oversees the attorney’s office advertising for his replacement even as the attorney, Roger Peven, prepares to represent domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham. The federal public defender’s office is facing a civil lawsuit by three former employees, who essentially claim that they were fired in retaliation after they raised concerns about a lack of leadership on the part of Peven. The lawsuit also claims the three employees forced an intervention that resulted in Peven seeking inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse.

Domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham faces a minimum of 30 years in prison if convicted of two new charges added last week in what prosecutors have called a thwarted attempt to bomb the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March in downtown Spokane. Harpham, 36, appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno, where he pleaded not guilty to the new federal grand jury indictment on charges of committing a hate crime and using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. A trial has already been set for May 31 on the previous charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection with a bomb found along the planned route of the march on Jan. 17.

A grand jury indicted Martin Luther King, Jr. march bomb suspect Kevin William Harpham on a federal hate crime charge today.

Court records related to the federal case against domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham will remain sealed, a judge ruled today.