Man who claimed he had explosives at Trump rally in Michigan is charged
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Walker
By Holmes Lybrand, CNN
(CNN) — The man who allegedly claimed he had C4 explosives in his car and sped through a security checkpoint at Donald Trump’s rally in Michigan over the weekend pleaded not guilty to charges against him on Monday.
Steven William Nauta has been charged with four state counts, including making a false threat of terrorism and being in possession of bomb-making materials. He has pleaded not guilty to each count, according to a court official.
A bond of $1 million was set for Nauta during his arraignment Monday, according to a court official, and was placed under house arrest.
In the complaint against Nauta, prosecutors allege that he “approached a traffic point” and “held a bottle to police and stated that it was ‘C4’ explosive and that it was the ‘real deal.’”
The complaint says he sped past the traffic point, disobeyed commands by officers to stop and, when he finally stopped after being chased by police, “removed bags of fertilizer from his vehicle and threw them on the ground to make it appear that they were explosives.”
Nauta told law enforcement, the complaint says, that “he intended to make officers, and others, believe that he had explosives.”
A federal source familiar with the incident told CNN that no explosives were found in Nauta’s vehicle. The charges against Nauta note that the fertilizer he allegedly removed from his vehicle can be used to make explosives.
Nauta’s plea of not guilty comes on the same day that Ryan Wesley Routh, who allegedly sat outside of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a rifle while Trump was golfing, pleaded not guilty to charges against him, including attempting to assassinate a political candidate.
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