MLK bomb suspect indicted on new charges

A grand jury indicted Martin Luther King, Jr. march bomb suspect Kevin William Harpham on a federal hate crime charge today. Harpham, 37, could be arraigned on the new indictment in U.S. District Court as early as Friday. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Harpham, who has been in the Spokane County Jail since his arrest March 9, already has pleaded not guilty to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and unauthorized possession of an unregistered explosive device. The new indictment includes those charges, as well as the hate crime and a charge of use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The hate crime charge alleges Harpham targeted the march “because of actual or perceived race, color and national origin of any person.” Harpham’s father, Cecil Harpham, has told The Spokesman-Review that his son was with him Jan. 17, the day the backpack bomb was discovered along the planned march route.