Martin Luther King Jr. Day would-be bomber pleads guilty

A man with ties to white supremacists plead guilty on Wednesday to charges that he planted a homemade bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route in Spokane, Washington earlier this year.

Kevin Harpham, 37, admitted to building a pipe bomb designed to be set off by a remote car-alarm trigger, and leaving the bomb in a backpack along the parade route, The Los Angeles Times reports.

"The placement of an explosive device in a crowded public area is horrific at any time, but this attack, planned to occur during an event celebrating the bonds of our community, makes it all the more reprehensible," Laura Laughlin, special agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle office, said in a statement after Harpham's plea.

According to the Associated Press, Harpham's deal with prosecutors calls for a recommended sentencing range of 27 to 32 years in prison.

The judge at today's hearing asked Harpham if he had placed the bomb in an attempt to hurt people because of their race, color or national origin.

"Yes," Harpham said.

The plea deal charged Harpham with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and the hate crime of placing the bomb in an effort to target minorities. Harpham spoke in a clear voice when he said "guilty" to each of the two counts.

He will be sentenced Nov. 30.

Harpham told the judge it had taken him about a month to build the bomb. It was discovered by parade workers before the event, and disabled by law enforcement.

The detonator was a remote car starter purchased over the Internet. The shrapnel that would have maimed victims was lead fishing weights purchased from Walmart. Harpham's DNA was on the handle of the backpack that held the bomb. After the arrest, officers found deleted photos in a digital camera that included pictures of Harpham at the parade, pictures of young black children gathering for the march and of a Jewish man who was wearing a yarmulke.

Investigators later discovered Harpham had posted many times over a number of years on a white supremacist website called Vanguard News Network.