SALEM — Police say an actual explosive device was used against the Satanic Temple this week, following numerous hoax threats over the past year as well as an arrest of a man in January who had planned an attack.
Salem police were called to the Satanic Temple around 4 p.m. Monday as staff arrived to find a previously activated explosive device on the property at 64 Bridge St. The incident was traced back to 4:14 a.m., when cameras captured a person throwing “an explosive device onto the porch of the Satanic Temple,” a police press release Monday night said.
“No one was present in the building at the time,” the release read, “and the device and damage it caused were not discovered until staff arrived at approximately 4 p.m.”
Addressing the matter Tuesday morning, Salem police Chief Lucas Miller said the Satanic Temple is “a target on a scale much larger than Salem, and I do think that we need to really examine security there.”
“The Temple is very cooperative with the Police Department, and they’re receptive to any ideas we have about improving security, so that’s something we’ll be looking at very closely,” Miller said. “The FBI has joined this investigation, and they’re the big kids when it comes to law enforcement. They have really talented investigators and resources that a small police department doesn’t really have, so they’re a very welcome addition.”
The Satanic Temple has been a regular target of hoax threats in recent years, with many of those threats also impacting the nearby Carlton Innovation School and in at least one case resulting in an evacuation of the school to Salem High. (tinyurl.com/2s4cc5f2)
There had been two arrests, however, in separate incidents in the past two years. A Chelsea man was arrested in June 2022 for arson at the Satanic Temple after he set fire to the front porch, and earlier this year a Michigan man was arrested and charged in that state with planning to bomb the building. Authorities have not linked any of the incidents at this time.
“Salem detectives have worked closely with Temple staff on investigating these threats and incidents,” the news release read. “The bombing is currently under investigation by detectives from the Salem Police Criminal Investigation Division, along with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.”
Monday morning’s bombing could have been worse, Miller explained.
“The device failed to cause as much damage as we believed the person who threw it intended, but it did cause damage and did ignite,” he said. “But it didn’t have nearly as powerful an effect as the perpetrator intended.”
The Carlton School was operating normally Tuesday morning, Miller said. The Police Department has “spread out both our school resource officers and our regular beat officers to pay specific attention to schools today,” he added.
“The schools weren’t the target here. The Satanic Temple was,” Miller said. “With Carlton’s proximity, while concerning, there’s no indication the device was powerful enough to impact the school.”
Mayor Dominick Pangallo also addressed the incident in a statement, saying “while I am glad no one was injured in this attack, I nevertheless condemn this action in the strongest possible way.
“Salem is a welcoming place and violent attacks like this are utterly reprehensible,” Pangallo wrote. “On behalf of the city, I want to extend our support for the staff and members at the Temple and the residents of the neighborhood who have been impacted by this crime. We’ll continue working to identify ways to improve the security of the area, to help ensure the safety of all our community members.”
By Dustin Luca | Staff Writer
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