Detectives watched in the middle of the night as a man began posting handmade political signs around his Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood. Glued to the sides of some signs were small blades. Affixed to the back of some was a bag of white powder and a crude and vague warning it was poison.
Police were already watching Jeffrey Michael Kelly because they suspected him of shooting three times at an empty Democratic campaign office. This, authorities said, appeared to be an escalation of his political violence.
Kelly was accused Thursday of three felony counts of making false terrorism threats. This is in addition to the seven felonies and three misdemeanor accusations he faced for the shootings at the campaign office.
What the FBI found in Kelly’s Ahwatukee home
Authorities searching Kelly’s home seized more than 120 guns, according to court papers filed on Wednesday. A Republic reporter who saw FBI and ATF agents taking inventory in the carport Wednesday morning heard mentions of the words “machine gun” and “silencers” and discussion of several safes in the home.