This story was updated at 2 pm with information stating there is no longer a threat to public safety.
Authorities identified and charged the man they say hadpipe bomb-like devices at his homeafter an investigation led to the cancellation of the nearby South Plainfield Labor Day parade.
Thomas Kaiser, 55, of South Plainfield, was charged with two counts of possessing a destructive device, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officials arrested him Monday morning after they found “over half a dozen” devices on his large property near the parade route, according to a senior law enforcement official with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. The FBI Newark office tweeted that the agency’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was tracking the situation involving “suspicious devices.”
Gov. Phil Murphy and first lady Tammy Murphy were supposed to attend the parade, which was set to start at 10 am, according to spokesman Dan Bryan. The parade and other festivities were abruptly cancelled by borough officials Monday morning.
The investigation began Sunday when a suspicious package was discovered at Donovan’s Reef, a bar in Sea Bright, Monmouth County, according to a news release from the prosecutor’s office.
That package led investigators to Kaiser’s home, where they say they found other explosive devices.
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