Religious fanatic is seen tossing pipe bomb into Satanic Temple in Salem after scrawling note claiming God sent him to 'smite' the occult

An Oklahoma man was arrested and charged for throwing a homemade pipe bomb onto the porch of a Satanic Temple last week.

Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, allegedly ignited a pipe filled with gunpowder and threw it at the entrance of the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts, before making his escape last Monday.

Surveillance cameras captured the suspect walking outside the temple, wearing a tan-colored tactical vest, gloves, a black jacket, and a black face covering early that morning.

The homemade pipe bomb caused minor fire damage to the temple, but no one was inside the building when it detonated. 

On Wednesday morning, FBI agents were spotted searching through a property in Perkins, Oklahoma, where Palmer lives. Authorities later announced his arrest. 

Surveillance cameras captured the suspect walking outside the temple, wearing a tan-colored tactical vest, gloves, a black jacket, and a black face covering early that morning

Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, was arrested and charged for throwing a homemade pipe bomb onto the porch of a Satanic Temple last week

Palmer allegedly ignited a pipe filled with gunpowder(pictured), threw it at the entrance of the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts, before making his escape last Monday

The homemade pipe bomb caused minor fire damage to the temple(seen above). Fortunately, no one was inside the building when the bomb detonated

Evidence found on the scene included a six-page, handwritten note that addressed to 'Dear Satanist', according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

The misspelled note read: 'DEAR SATANIST ELOHIM SEND ME 7 MONTHS AGO TO GIVE YOU PEACEFUL MESSAGE TO HOPE YOU REPENT. YOU SAY NO, ELOHIM NOW SEND ME TO SMITE SATAN AND I HAPPY TO OBEY.' 

The message continued: 'AND ELOHIM WANT ME TO CONTACT YOU TO TELL YOU REPENT. TURN FROM SIN. ELOHIM NO LIKE THIS PLACE AND PLAN TO DESTROY IT. MAYBE SALEM TOO? ELOHIM SEND ME TO FIGHT CRYBABY SATAN, BUT WANT ME TO MAKE HARD EFFORT SO NO ONE DIES. I OBEY.' 

The Satanic Temple in Salem, also an art gallery with a permanent exhibit on Satanism, was vandalized seven months ago with white spray paint, although the incident was not publicized at the time. 

'There is probable cause to believe, therefore, that the person responsible for the April 8th IED incident is the same person responsible for vandalizing TST with spray paint in September 2023,' the FBI said.

Authorities said the bomb was made from a plastic pipe covered with metal nails and a substance later identified as smokeless gunpowder. 

A single human hair belonging to a Caucasian man and a dark-colored dog hair were also found on the scene. 

Palmer is seen on social media donning a tan tactical vest similar to the one captured in the surveillance footage

Authorities said the bomb was made from a plastic pipe covered with metal nails and a substance later identified as smokeless gunpowder

The homemade pipe bomb caused minor fire damage to the temple

The charging document alleged that Palmer purchased PVC pipe and matching PVC end cap like the pipe and end cap used to construct the pipe bomb from a home improvement retailer in Oklahoma in early April. 

Authorities disclosed that a black Volvo sedan, registered under Palmer's name, was seen driving 'erratically' near the temple both before and after the incident.

Photos on Palmer's social media reveal that the 49-year-old man owns at least one dog with dark hair like the one found on the scene. 

'Palmer also allegedly comments frequently on a social media website about religious matters and themes similar to those contained in the handwritten note found outside of TST on April 8, 2024,' a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office read. 

Palmer will make an initial appearance in the Western District of Oklahoma on Thursday. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. 

If convicted, Palmer faces five to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The Satanic Temple claims to be the only federally recognized international nontheistic religious Satanic organization, according to its website

'I also hope this makes clear once again, that if you target the people of Salem for violence, we, and our friends in the FBI, will find you,' Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said in a statement.

Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the temple, told NBC10: 'I think this person was very motivated to cause a good amount of damage and destruction and didn't care if people got killed or harmed along the way.' 

'Especially when it's some random person who think they know something about us when clearly they don't, just based on ignorance, we do have to fear that ignorance is still present among a population of people,' Lucien added. 

The Satanic Temple claims to be the only federally recognized international nontheistic religious Satanic organization, according to its website. 

Its headquarters in Salem also maintain an art gallery and a permanent exhibit dedicated to witch-hunts, Satanism, and moral panics.