A Massachusetts man has been charged with participating in a scheme to cover up efforts to develop bomb-making skills after he set off an explosion last year in his dorm room at the University of Chicago, federal investigators said Thursday.
Aram Brunson, 21, of Newton, is also accused of making false statements to federal officials at Logan International Airport after his luggage set off explosive alarms, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Boston.
Prosecutors said Brunson’s bomb-making activities were linked to his desire to carry out militant actions against Azerbaijanis and others who pose a threat to ethnic Armenians living in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Investigators believe Brunson currently lives in Yerevan, Armenia, and is studying at the American University there. The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a question about whether Brunson has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Brunson came to the attention of law enforcement in Chicago in January 2023 after allegedly causing an explosion in his bedroom.
Investigators say Brunson was building a large black powder device when he accidentally set it off, setting his room on fire and prompting an evacuation of the dorm. Brunson told police he was trying to imitate a prank he had seen online.
Brunson also made videos of himself teaching others how to make explosive devices and booby-trap doors and offices with grenades, investigators said. Brunson’s internet searches suggested he planned to take action against foreign diplomatic facilities in the United States, they said.
As Brunson left Boston for Armenia in August 2023, his bags set off explosive alarms for an unusual, highly volatile explosive, court documents show, and Brunson told Customs and Border Protection officials he had no idea how traces of the material ended up on his bags.
During a subsequent search of his Newton home, a recipe for making the explosive was found and a bomb-detection dog detected the substance in three locations in the bedroom, investigators said.
“While radical political views may be offensive, they are protected by the Constitution. However, experimenting with extremely dangerous explosives to support those views and then making false statements about your conduct is a violation of the rules,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy.
Efforts were made to encourage Brunson to return to the United States to meet with agents, but he declined through a representative, according to the criminal complaint.
Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
