“An Oklahoma man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for throwing a pipe bomb at The Satanic Temple (TST) in Salem, Mass. on April 8, 2024.
Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Okla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In March 2025, Palmer pleaded guilty to one count of using an explosive device to damage and attempt to damage a building used in interstate or foreign commerce. He was charged by criminal complaint and arrested on April 17, 2024, in Perkins, Okla.
Massachusetts
TST is a non-theistic religious organization headquartered in Salem, Mass. According to the charging documents, at approximately 4:14 a.m. on April 8, 2024, surveillance cameras captured a man, subsequently identified as Palmer, walking towards TST wearing a black face covering, a tan-colored tactical vest and gloves. As Palmer approached TST, he ignited a pipe bomb – a type of improvised explosive device or “IED” – threw it at TST’s main entrance, and then ran away. The IED did not fully detonate and therefore caused only minor damage to TST’s exterior…