Dennis Dilow, the police chief for the city of Bluefield, told reporters that his officers arrested 50-year-old local man James Dean Fowler on suspicion of planting the hoax devices. Several buildings in downtown Bluefield were evacuated that morning after suspicious devices were found at the federal courthouse and Westminster Presbyterian Church. Police set off a controlled explosion at one device and told reporters another was suspected to be waiting at the suspect’s home. However, Mr Dillow told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that the ‘bombs’ had since been defused or examined and found to be fake. He said police were called to the courthouse around 8:46 a.m. after Mr. Fowler entered the building with a black bag that he claimed contained an explosive device and “insisted on seeing a federal homeland security agent.” Mr Dillow said: “He was arrested and taken away from the scene. This area has been secured and the building has been evacuated.” A spokesperson for the Bluefield Police Department told the Independent that there is an ongoing incident and that the FBI was on the scene. According to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, a bomb squad from the state capital of Charleston entered the federal courthouse in Bluefield around 10:30 a.m. local time on Monday and carried out a controlled explosion. At around 1.10pm, bomb squad units were also seen preparing to enter Westminster Presbyterian Church and at 2.00pm they began moving into a nearby house. This story was updated at 8:27 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, August 22, 2022 to include new details released by police.
