Man put pipe bombs on tugboats on the Ohio River, feds say. His motive is a mystery

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While traveling along the Ohio River, a “clanking” sound caught the attention of a tugboat captain who watched two pipe bombs land on the boat’s deck, according to federal investigators.

Days before, another pipe bomb was discovered on a different tugboat on the river in October 2021, court documents state.

Prosecutors said a man dropped the bombs onto the boats from a bridge — but his motive remains a mystery. Now he’s going to prison.

A judge sentenced Nathaniel Blayn Becker, 43, of Marietta, Ohio, to eight years and one month in federal prison on Dec. 1 in connection with the explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia announced in a news release. Marietta borders the Ohio River and West Virginia.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson called the case “very perplexing.”

“As of today, we have yet to find a motive of what made Mr. Becker want to do this,” Thompson said in a statement. “That’s concerning to me now and also concerning to me when Mr. Becker is eventually released.”

During the trial, Becker maintained his innocence, claiming he was fishing and searching for arrowheads along the riverbank when the bombs were put on the boats, according to the government’s sentencing memo.

However, surveillance footage captured Becker buying materials used to construct the pipe bombs at a Lowe’s in Marietta on several occasions before the explosives were found, prosecutors said.

McClatchy News contacted Becker’s attorney for comment on Dec. 2 and did not immediately receive a response.

Becker was on probation at the time the bombs were planted after being involved in a standoff with police during an unrelated incident, prosecutors said.

Pipe bombs found on the boats

A deckhand working on the Janis R. Brewer tugboat found the first pipe bomb Becker planted on Oct. 21, 2021, according to an affidavit.

Around 3 a.m., the deckhand discovered the device on a barge attached to the tugboat while floating upstream near Parkersburg, West Virginia, which is about 15 miles south of where Becker lives, the affidavit states. The deckhand picked it up and found a fuse sticking out from one end.

Upon realizing that it was a bomb, he carefully put the device down on the deck and placed rope on top to keep it from rolling, according to investigators.

Law enforcement was called, and West Virginia State Police bomb technicians arrived to disassemble the explosive after determining that was the “safest course of action,” the affidavit states.

Prosecutors said “around the time of (this) incident,” security footage from Lowe’s and Walmart in Marietta caught Becker holding pipe bomb materials while walking toward a bridge above the Ohio River.

On Oct. 25, the captain found two pipe bombs on the Connie K. tugboat while traveling along the river in Wood County, West Virginia, according to investigators. The bombs landed on the boat as it passed under an interstate bridge.

Authorities were called and recovered the explosives, prosecutors said.

One day later, more suspected pipe bombs were found on a third tugboat in Wood County, West Virginia, according to the affidavit.

The deckhand of this tugboat found the bombs on an attached barge after the tugboat traveled underneath two bridges, investigators said.

Unlike the other pipe bombs, these devices were not explosive and contained septic tank cleaner, according to prosecutors. Because of this, Becker was not charged in connection with this incident.

Becker was previously convicted of not complying with police in Ohio in August 2020, according to the release. Becker brandished a knife at a police officer conducting a traffic stop of his car in February 2020, prosecutors said.

Ultimately, Becker fled in his car and police chased him to his home where he barricaded himself, resulting in a standoff, the release says.

As for the case involving pipe bombs, prosecutors wrote in Becker’s sentencing memo that “the lack of identified motive makes this case particularly alarming because it denies the Court and law enforcement the ability to direct resources to prevent similar future conduct by (Becker).”

In a statement, ATF Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow said Becker’s “actions could have resulted in death or serious injury to citizens, as well as first responders who rendered those devices safe.”

Marietta, where Becker is from, is 125 miles southeast of Columbus.

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shmi on December 2nd, 2022 at 20:13 UTC »

I'd say his motive was to sink some boats.

Doppelthedh on December 2nd, 2022 at 18:28 UTC »

Man critically misunderstood an explosive tuggy

SapperInTexas on December 2nd, 2022 at 17:58 UTC »

So the idiot dropped/planted these things on the boats, but they never detonated? Failed terrorist is still a terrorist.