A Mount Olive man gets 25 years in prison for training to make bombs intended to kill law enforcement officers

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (WITN) – A Mount Olive man will spend the next 25 years in prison for teaching someone how to use explosives he knew could harm or kill law enforcement officers.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District says Christopher Arthur, 40, was sentenced today.

Arthur was convicted in July 2023 of teaching another person how to make and use an explosive, knowing that the person intended to use the instruction to murder or attempt to murder federal law enforcement.

Federal officials said Arthur and his company trained people to fight the “biggest threat,” which he described as a militarized force such as law enforcement SWAT teams.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says evidence was presented related to a three-part series of instructional videos on how to overthrow the government. During one of these videos, a sign above the noose read “Start with LOCAL government” and “Set the standard -> Traitors will be HUNG.”

The investigation into Arthur began when a tactical manual authored by Arthur was found in the belongings of a man who died in a shootout with New York City police in May 2022. A review of the man’s cellphone showed he had been training with Arthur at Mount Olive for several days in March 2020.

Investigators said that in March 2021, a confidential source working with the FBI asked Arthur for training.

The source said that during conversations with Arthur, Arthur was clearly told he needed training because the ATF had visited his home and he expected them to return.

“During the two-and-a-half-hour training, Arthur walked the CS through the process of creating IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and how to place them to create ‘lethal sinkholes’ that could be used to maim or murder anyone who entered the CS’s home,” officials say. “During this instruction, Arthur showed CS how to make an electric initiator for homemade grenades and bombs and how to make a homemade trip wire. When he finished demonstrating how to make the components, Arthur delivered them to CS and explained how to use an old shotgun to create a “thumper” from which to fire homemade grenades.

A search warrant executed at Arthur’s home in Mount Olive found an IED placed on the front porch of the house with wires leading to a switch powered by a 9-volt battery located in the house. Additionally, three IED grenades placed near an incendiary plate intended to aid in the detonation of the IED, an illegally converted short-barrel rifle with a non-stock silencer (i.e. “silencer”) attached, and a fifth IED were recovered.