From Staff Reports

The two men charged with possessing homemade explosives or bombs at a Fourth of a July celebration in downtown Asheville are Chioke Auden Fugate, 23, and Duncan Andrew Small, 30, according to the Asheville Police Department. 

They allegedly possessed a "homemade incendiary device" of "cardboard tubes filled with black powder and covered by tape," according to magistrate's orders filed by the APD, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on July 6. "The devices were designed in such a way that they appeared to be homemade explosives or bombs.”

In the aftermath, the secured bond for Small on July 5 was set at $15,000, but was later increased to a $50,000 secured bond, while Fugate eventually turned himself in and later was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Both men are out on bond.

In a statement, APD Chief David Zack said, “This sort of activity around a large crowd could have been deadly, so we are grateful it didn’t turn out worse last night.”

In a news release, the APD reported that Fugate and Small lit IEDs "similar to pipe bombs" and threw them at the base of the Vance Monument, which is all that remains since the city deconstructed the 75-foot-tall granite obelisk. 

Further, the APD release noted that no one was hurt and the department's bomb squad responded to the scene and located the remnants of an exploded IED at Pack Square.

APD Bomb Squad Commander Capt. Joe Silberman said in a statement, “The size of the device used and nature of the energetic materials therein presented a clear threat to human life, especially in light of its use in such a densely populated area.

“A magistrate's order says that Fugate admitted to having homemade explosives ‘by making spontaneous utterances that he threw the devices at nearby individuals,’” the Citizen Times reported.

“Small fired an ‘orange flare gun into the air in downtown Asheville while there were families and individuals standing nearby,’ another says,” the ACT noted.

In a story on the monument bombing incident released July 18, the Asheville Watchdog website reported the following:

“Witnesses said Small threw the explosive, described in court as a ‘quarter stick’ or M device, at the remnants of the Vance Monument, and Fugate ‘threw fireworks and other incindendiary devices at people,’ court records say.”

Also, Asheville Watchdog added, “Eight days before July 4, the pair attended an abortion-rights rally in downtown Asheville. Fugate was wearing body armor and Small was carrying a revolver in a shoulder sling, police said.”

Meanwhile, the APD reported that, immedately after the incident, it found zip-tie handcuffs and a two-way radio belonging to Small, and leather gloves and a gas mask belonging to Fugate. 

In Small’s vehicle, the APD release stated, police found a ballistic vest, pistol and ammunition, and a flare gun and ammunition.

Witnesses at the scene also told officers they overheard Small say that he was going to blow up what remains of the monument, the release said.

“Small was arrested in June for bringing a gun to an Asheville protest against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade,” the ACT reported. “At the time, police asked for help identifying him and another man, who they now say was Fugate.”

The APD release pointed to a previous email that the department had shared from someone claiming to be an "Antifa footsoldier" ready to seemingly test the department, noting that the incident happened one day after the department received the email.

Antifa, which stands for anti-fascist, is not an organization, various pundits and officials have said.

“FBI Director Christopher Wray has described it as ‘more of an ideology than an organization,’ though right-wing leaders have frequently treated it as an organization,” the ACT reported.

Fugate has been charged with the following:

• Possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

• Going armed to the terror of the people.

He is being held in the Buncombe County jail on a secured $15,000 bond.

Meanwhile, Small has been charged with the following:

• Felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

• Misdemeanor going armed to the terror of the people.

• Discharging a firearm in city limits.

On July 8, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported that both men have been additionally charged with attempted damage to real property with an explosive device.

 Meanwhile, the July 18 story by the Asheville Watchdog website, headlined “Was It Just a Fireworks Prank? Or Was a Possible Tragedy Averted,” began by noting the following regarding the two men arrested in the case:

“One dressed in Nazi uniforms, posed with an array of firearms and knives, and posted videos of himself shooting automatic rifles. The other threatened to spread his COVID-19 infection throughout a courthouse in Washington state if court personnel did not drop a speeding ticket.”

The website also noted that, in June 2020, Small was charged in Buncombe County, “during the Black Lives Matter protests, with failing to obey an officer’s command to disperse from a public disturbance. That case was dropped due to COVID-19, court records say.”

What’s more, Asheville Watchdog reported, “Less than a year later, Small came armed to the abotion rally in Asheville with Fugate, police said. A charge against Small for carrying a weapon at a demonstration was still pending when, on July 4, police say, he parked his Kia Forte downtown and removed items resembling a bomb, to the alarm of witnesses, who call 911.

“Small lit an explosive, described in an arrest warrant as a device made of cardboard, black powder and tape, and threw it at the Vance Monument, prosecutors allege.

“‘Multiple witnesses reported seeing the defendant throw the explosive device and the remains of the device were recovered by the APD,’ a court document said. Det. Jason Hunter said in court that ‘several devices had actually exploded’ and that Small and Fugate intended to destroy the monument....

“Small ‘believed he was setting off fireworks on the Fourth of July,’ (Lindsey Teal) Mittelstadt, his attorney, said.”

Further, the website noted, “Buncombe District Court Judge Julie Kepple on July 8 set bond for Small, at $50,000, less than the $100,000 sought by prosecutors.

“‘There are escalating concerns about this individual,’ the judge said,” Asheville Watchdog reported. “‘And so my concern is that this isn’t just a one-off for him, that he has a tendency to be potentially violent.’

“Small posted bond July 11. He was required to wear an electronic monitoring device, stay at least 1,000 feet from downtown gathering places, including Pack Square and Pritchard Park, and surrender his firearms. He was released to the custody of his parents, who appear to run a firearms business from their home in Florida.” (Small is listed at an Indian Rocks Beach, Fla., address in a court document.)

Within hours of his release from jail, Small, according to prosecutors, “wrote a social media post that said police and the media were ‘attempting to paint typical Fourth of July shenanigans as terroristic acts. Disregard this official narrative, and star a riot, if they continue this funny business,’” according Asheville Watchdog.

“Based on the post, presecutors returned to court July 13 and asked that Small’s bond be revoked and the he return to jail in Buncombe County.

“Doug Edwards, Small’s attorney, said the post had been made on a ‘fan page’ for Small’s music, and that other people on ‘an admin team’ had access to it.

“‘My client maintains that he did not make this post,’ Edwards said. He said Small was at his parents’ house in Florida under house arrest, able to leave only for mental health treatment,” Asheville Watchdog reported.

“Buncombe District Court Judge Edwin D. Clontz called the allegations against Small ‘very severe and extremely troubling, given the circumstances in our society.

“‘We’ve all seen the actions on January 6th, so it’s troubling when it comes to our hometown,’ the judge said.

“But without proof that Small authored the post, Clontz said, revoking bond would be ‘a harsh punishment.’ He allowed Small to remain free on the same bond with the additional condition that he delete or suspend all social media accounts,” the website noted.

“An FBI spokesman confirmed that they have been in contact with Asheville police and were prepared to investigate if a federal crime was identified,” according to Asheville Watchdog’s report.

Contacted at 10:05 a.m. July 18 just before this edition went to press, APD Public Information Officer Bill Davis told the Daily Planet that he is “not aware” of any other late-breaking developments over the July 15-17 weekend in either the Antifa threat to the APD — or the Vance Monument bombing — cases.