ANDERSON – A former Barnwell man who admitted to bombing the Pickens County Court in 2019 was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
Michael Lambert Seabrooke, 37, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of malicious damage and attempted damage through explosive materials, and one charge of possession of explosive devices, according to the District Attorney of the District of South Carolina.
The attack took place on July 7, 2019, prosecutors said.
A Pickens police officer heard an explosion and “located a destructive device in an area surrounded by the Pickens County Court located at 214 East Main Street,” prosecutors said.
Although the bomb exploded, it caused only minor damage to the building and no injuries, prosecutors said.
Investigators found that the bomb consisted of two tubular pumps attached by a strap to a propane cylinder that had its valve in the open position, prosecutors said.
“The tubular bombs detonated, but did not ignite the propane,” prosecutors said. “During a search in the area, police recovered items from the site, including galvanized metal tubes, pieces of pipe caps, black plastic bag material, green plastic bag material, propane cylinder along with propane cylinder hose.”
Investigators found surveillance videos of nearby businesses showing a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and its license plate, prosecutors said. They approached the truck as a “suspicious vehicle” and tracked it to an address in Columbia.
Federal agents watched the truck until they saw someone approaching, prosecutors said. An FBI task force officer went to the man and identified him as Seabrooke.
“During an interview, Seabrooke confessed to federal agents that he placed the device in the Pickens County Court and that he also threw various destructive devices on the roof of the Department of Social Services (SC) building in Pickens,” prosecutors said.
He gave agents permission to search his truck, where they found two metal bombs and two Molotov cocktails, prosecutors said.
“During a search of his home and vehicle, agents found materials consistent with those found in the explosive devices,” prosecutors said.
After the confession, the agents went to the DSS building, where they found three Molotov cocktails and a detonated bomb that caused minimal damage, prosecutors said.
Seabrooke was “completely cooperative” with the authorities and told them he placed the bombs because he “was concerned about the problems” with the DSS and his family, prosecutors said.
The Post and the Courier previously reported that Seabrooke had sued Pickens County for its treatment in the county jail over a different criminal case, and that case was closed days before the bombs exploded in court.
After serving his prison sentence, Seabrooke will be released from supervised release for 3 years, prosecutors said.
To reach Gregory Yee at 843-323-9175. Follow him on Twitter @GregoryYYee.