A man accused of shooting three times at a Democratic office was preparing for a “mass casualty” attack, officials say

TEMPE, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) – Dozens of guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a grenade launcher were reportedly recovered from the home of a suspect accused of leaving bags of white powder in multiple locations and recent shootings against a presidential candidate Democrats committed office.

Authorities identified the suspect overnight as 60-year-old Jeffrey Michael Kelly, who faces multiple charges in connection with both crimes. At his first court appearance Wednesday morning, a prosecutor said weapons, including a fully automatic weapon, were found in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.

“The state and law enforcement believe that this individual was preparing to commit mass destruction with the weapons he possessed and that his violence escalated,” Maricopa Assistant District Attorney Neha Bhatia said during the hearing.

She noted that a search warrant was underway at his home, where investigators had already seized about 120 weapons, including AR rifles and other fully automatic weapons.

Bhatia also said 250,000 rounds of ammunition were found, along with silencers, scopes and body armor. In addition, a grenade launcher and dummy grenades were also recovered.

Kelly faces multiple counts of unlawful dismissal, shooting at a non-residential structure and terrorist attack. He also has to answer to several counts of criminal damage to property.

According to police, the investigation into Kelly began in Tempe when he shot three times at the Democratic National Committee field office near Southern Avenue and Priest Drive, the most recent shooting occurring on Oct. 6. 23.

According to police, Kelly fired pellets and shots from his vehicle at the office. No one was in the building during any of the incidents, and the Democratic Party eventually closed the field office.

Surveillance video showed a silver Toyota Highlander in two of the shootings, in one case with an expired Colorado license plate and in the other case with a California license plate.

In a news conference, authorities said Kelly was linked as a possible suspect after community members came forward to report a similar case of politically motivated crime in 2022, in which Kelly allegedly used the same SUV to steal Democratic signs.

After identifying Kelly as a possible suspect, police executed search warrants for his social media and Google accounts. According to court documents, Kelly used Google Maps to search the address of the DNC campaign office.

According to documents, from Monday night into Tuesday morning, Kelly was observed posting “signs containing anti-democratic ideology” at various locations near his home in Ahwatukee.

Locations included Chandler Boulevard near 44th Street and 35th Street, and Ray Road and 50th Street.

Phoenix police later said the signs were also lined with razor blades. The signs contained messages related to the Democratic Party and presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

The signs reportedly included clear plastic bags filled with white powder and the words “Biohazard” written on them, along with the words “F*** you!” and “Play stupid games and win stupid prizes,” among other things. and “Guess the poison!”

There were no reports of injuries and officials said the substance was not harmful.

Kelly was arrested Tuesday just after 1:30 p.m.

Documents show a silver 2009 Toyota Highlander was found covered with blankets in the garage. Although it had an Arizona license plate, investigators reportedly seized additional license plates from the garage, including one from Colorado and one from California.

“He is obviously making threats,” Bhatia told the court. “He wants to scare the population. His violence is escalating and the state believes he poses an absolute threat to the community, to all political figures, especially to Democrats.”

Kelly's attorney argued that some of the allegations were inflammatory and said his client was a retired aerospace engineer with a top-secret classification and no criminal record. As for the weapons, his attorney said Kelly was an athlete.

“We will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate anyone involved in the process,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Anyone who engages in political violence or attempts to interfere in elections or prevent people from participating in the political process will face serious legal consequences. We will aggressively pursue law enforcement to protect our democracy and our democratic process.”

“I appreciate that you may be an athlete, but it's unclear to me at this point what a grenade launcher has to do with this,” Judge William Cathon said.

While the state asked for a cash bond of $1 million, the judge set a cash-only bond of $500,000. In case she can post it, Kelly was sentenced to house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor.

Later Wednesday evening, Kelly faced a judge again, this time on charges of making false terror reports. After a back-and-forth with attorneys, the judge set an additional $500,000 cash bond, which was requested by prosecutors.

Kelly must come up with $1 million in cash if he wants to be released from prison before trial.

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