Man tries to board plane with explosive, says police

REDMOND, Ore. >> A man who was discovered to have an explosive device as he tried to board a plane in Oregon did not have any plans to use it, police said Friday.

“We confirmed he didn’t have any intent to use them on the plane,” said Lt. Nathan Garibay of Redmond Police. “As far as whether he knowingly knew he had them and forgot, that has yet to be confirmed.”

Police arrested Joseph Seeley, 24, of Bend, after Transportation Security Administration personnel found the device in the course of normal screening before passengers boarded an Allegiant Air flight to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on Thursday morning, Garibay said.

Seeley was later questioned by police and the FBI.

Garibay would not disclose just what the device was, where it was found or how it was found. After consulting with bomb technicians from state police and the FBI, police cited Seeley on a misdemeanor charge of possession of an explosive device without a license and released him.

The Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Attorney’s Office were reviewing the case, Garibay added.

FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said the case “did not rise to the level of a federal violation.”