Well, this is a new one — kinda.
A man in New York was arrested for allegedly planning to blow himself up on the National Mall in Washington D.C. during this year’s Election Day.
The FBI arrested 56-year-old Paul Rosenfeld based on accusations of the man building a bomb that he was going to use to blow himself up to bring attention to the Ancient Greek practice of selecting lawmakers by lot, also known as sortition.
Sortition is basically the practice of choosing legislators by chance, “randomly selecting legislators out of a pool of eligible voters.” Think picking a name out of a hat.
Supposedly, the thinking behind wanting to use this practice would be to take out the influence of corporate interests and lobbyists out of elections.
According to NBC News:
The plot unraveled after Rosenfeld sent letters and text messages to a reporter in Pennsylvania in August and September, stating that he planned to blow himself up in the heart of the capital on Election Day, according to court papers and officials.
The reporter contacted authorities, and on Tuesday, FBI agents pulled over Rosenfeld while he was driving, court papers say.
Rosenfeld confessed to the plot, telling the agents he ordered black powder over the internet and built a bomb in his basement, court papers say.
It was also reported that authorities searched Rosenfeld’s residence and found a 200-lb. bomb that included eight pounds of “explosive black powder.” The rest of the device’s mass was attributed to components that allowed for transport of the bomb.
Rosenfeld was charged with unlawful manufacture of a destruction device and interstate transportation and a receipt of explosive.
For coverage of the story, watch below: