Mississippi man 'bombed a Walmart store after the chain stopped selling the Confederate flag'
- Marshall Leonard accused of throwing newspaper-wrapped bomb at store
- Angry store no longer sold state flag, which includes Confederate symbol
- He was caught after his car - which sports Mississippi flag - ran red light
- If found guilty of bombing, unemployed Leonard could face a life sentence
Accused: Marshall W Leonard was arrested in the early hours of Sunday after he allegedly threw a bomb at a Wal-Mart store in Tupelo, Mississippi
A man known for flying a four-foot long Mississippi flag on his car has been arrested after throwing a bomb into a Wal-Mart store after they stopped selling the flag.
Marshall W Leonard allegedly warned a Wal-Mart employee to run before lighting the explosive, which was wrapped in newspaper, and throwing it at the store in Tupelo in the early hours of Sunday.
The unemployed 61-year-old was apparently enraged the chain had stopped selling the Mississippi state flag, which includes the Confederate battle flag in its upper left section.
Wal-Mart is among the retailers which stopped selling merchandise bearing reproductions of the Confederate battle flag after the June 17 killing of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Police Chief Bart Aguirre, who is investigating the bombing, said Leonard allegedly threw the homemade device into the store around 1.30am on Sunday.
'An employee was sitting in the vestibule taking a break,' he said.
'He told the employee to run — that he was going to blow the place up. He throws this package into the front entrance of Wal-Mart. He flees and the employee flees.'
The bomb didn't go off with enough force to do any real damage to the store, and no one was hurt. However, experts say the package held enough explosive to damage the store if it had been assembled differently.
Leonard was caught half-an-hour later when his silver Mazda, adorned with stickers of the Mississippi state flag and the Confederate battle flag, as well as bearing the state flag on a flexible pole, ran a red light near the store.
Aguirre said: 'He's a strong supporter of keeping that flag flying. ... This is his way of bringing attention to that.'
Just days before, he had written on the Facebook page of local newspaper, the Daily Journal, warning them they were 'part of the problem' and 'on final warning'.
Target: The store, pictured, angered Leonard after it decided to stop selling the Mississippi state flag
'As a result of this, y’all are going down, along with Walmart, WTVA, Reeds department store, and all the rest of the anti-American crooks. I’m not kidding. No messing around anymore!'
Aguirre confirmed Leonard, of Tupelo, was jailed on a charge of detonating an explosive, and police were searching his car and home,
Leonard did not yet have an attorney who could comment Monday. His bond hearing probably will be held Tuesday, and the judge will appoint an attorney if Leonard cannot afford one, the police chief said.
If he is found guilty, he could face a life sentence, according to the Journal.
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