The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of a Brentwood man over an alleged plot to bomb a federal courthouse.
MNPD announced in a Tuesday press release that Alexander Thompson, 35, was arrested after he alleged made “numerous electronic threats involving plans to firebomb the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building.”
Police further allege that Thompson specified he planned to “firebomb” bomb he courthouse within the next two weeks, and say they were made aware of the threats on Sunday, through both “emails and social media posts” from accounts that “belong to Thompson.”
According to MNPD, Thompson admitted to making the threats after he was arrested at his workplace in Goodlettsville, resulting in charges for terrorism and false reporting. MNPD stated that Thompson remains in police custody on a $100,000 bond, and that police are continuing to investigate the threats he allegedly made against the federal building.
The courthouse Thompson allegedly planned to bomb is situated over three acres, contains eight courtrooms and eleven judges chambers, and was completed in 2022, according to the architects behind its construction. It was built with room for the Department of Justice expand amid Nashville’s expected growth over the next three decades.
Though MNPD did not offer a motive for Thompson, the alleged bomb threat came only days after the arrest of Ethan Paul Early, a Nashville emergency medical technician (EMT) who allegedly planned to bomb Elon Musk’s xAI data center in Memphis over disagreements with the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Ashland City Police Department (ACPD) said Early drew their attention after friends and colleagues reported concerning remarks to law enforcement, and that Early admitted to making the remarks and purchasing explosives to create the explosive compound thermite, but claimed that he never went threw with its creation and discarded the materials.
Police officials reportedly stated Early expressed shame for becoming “too wrapped up in politics” when questioned by ACPD.
Both Thompson and Early were arrested over four years after down Nashville was shaken by a bomb blast on Christmas Day in 2020.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Alexander Thompson” by Metro Nashville Police Department.
