BAY CITY, Mich. — John Douglas Allen admitted in court on Monday to a 2021 campaign of threats of violence, including domestic terrorism such as planting bombs, against telecommunications companies that he blamed for “broadcasting pornography, cursing and immoral content.”
The 76-year-old Allen, described in the press as “a retired miner,” was arrested by the FBI in September 2021 following an investigation into the bomb threats. Federal prosecutors charged Allen with “extortion and attempting to destroy a building and accused him of leaving pipe bombs and threatening letters in locations across northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula,” the Detroit News reported at the time.
Allen appeared on Monday before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris at the federal courthouse in Bay City. According to news site Michigan Live, Allen “pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted destruction of a building and one count of attempted interference with commerce by extortion.”
The destruction charge “carries a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence that can be extended up to 20 years, while the latter is a 20-year felony,” the report explained, adding that “prosecutors are recommending Allen serve his eventual sentences concurrently.”
Fully Functional Bombs Against 'Immoral Content'
As part of his plea agreement, Allen admitted that on Aug. 24, 2021 he “drove a van bearing a California license plate from his Iosco County home north into the Upper Peninsula. He then placed polka-dot envelopes containing threatening letters on at least three cellphone towers.”
The letters demanded that “immoral content” such as pornography “no longer be on the internet.” Allen signed the bizarre letters as being from a supposed anti-porn group called “Coalition for Moral Communications” which the letters claimed the group had members in 27 states, and addressed them to “AT&T, Verizon, and all other carriers."
Allen also demanded the telecom giants pay $5 million, with instructions forthcoming in future letters, or else he would destroy the companies’ cell towers.
The plea includes Allen’s admission that “in furtherance of this threatened extortion,” he made two crude pipe bombs at his home.
“They were fully functional and contained shrapnel,” the plea agreement admitted.
On Sept. 15, Allen “drove his van — again, with the California license plate — to Sault Ste. Marie. Around 7:30 p.m., he placed one of his makeshift bombs at an AT&T store within the city,” Michigan Live reported. “He then headed back south over the Mackinac Bridge and about 10:10 p.m. placed his second bomb in front of a Verizon store in Cheboygan.”
Both bombs “were placed in cardboard United States Postal Service boxes that had ‘CMT’ written on them and contained handcuffs. Both boxes also bore writing indicating this was the ‘last warning’ and that the next incident would be during business hours.”
Year-Long Plot to 'Remove Internet Porn' by Violence
Allen told agents upon his arrest on Sept. 20, 2021 that “he had penned three or four letters, signed them as the Coalition for Moral Telecommunications, and left them at cell towers in the Upper Peninsula,” Michigan Live reported. Allen also admitted to placing the two pipe bombs and “told agents he bought the bombs’ components about a year prior at various hardware stores. He spent a year building up his courage to place the destructive devices, he told agents.”
Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison noted at Monday’s hearing that “the actions of this defendant could have resulted in significant bodily harm or death to citizens in the area. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, we were able to find and remove these dangerous devices before the defendant could cause serious harm.”
Allen’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 9.