California man attempts to board plane with explosive, 5 phones and a very ominous text

Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times on Jun 2, 2026

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Wearing a scarf around his face and blue latex gloves on his hands, a 49-year-old man already had a suspicious look about him as he approached TSA agents at Sacramento International Airport on Saturday night.

But it was the contents of his carry-on bag that proved truly unnerving.

Inside his backpack, agents found a knife, other bladed weapons, zip ties, a butane torch lighter and a homemade explosive device, according to the Department of Justice.

They also found five cellphones, all with painter’s tape covering the front camera. Prosecutors said one of the phones had a 15-minute timer ready to start, while another displayed an ominous message from an unknown number — “we will be awaiting your call.”

The traveler, identified as Kimani Osayande Jones, was attempting to board an American Airlines flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, around 9 p.m. when the items were discovered, according to the complaint filed against him in California’s Eastern District Court.

He told officers he did not know the items were in his bag and would be fine discarding them. He then invoked his Miranda rights and refused to be interviewed by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office or the FBI. He was placed under arrest and transported to Sacramento County Jail.

On Tuesday, he was charged with unlawfully possessing explosive material in an airport. If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The improvised explosive device was a 2.5-inch-long brown cylinder with a 1-inch green fuse, according to the complaint. Bomb technicians from the FBI and Sheriff’s Department worked together to extract it from the bag, place a bomb blast suppression device on top and remove it from the airport.

The device was rendered safe and the fuse and powder sent for testing. Both were determined to be “viable and energetic,” according to the complaint.

An FBI bomb technician determined that if the device had detonated in an aircraft flying above 10,000 feet, it had the potential to damage the plane’s window and cause a possible loss of cabin pressure, according to the complaint.

Jones has a history of paranoia and is believe to have made 13 calls to the FBI this year reporting that he was being threatened and intimidated, according to the complaint.

During these calls, he reported being followed, sabotaged while he slept, coerced and having had his life threatened by people who could access his texts.

He mentioned exercising his Second Amendment rights to defend himself against the threats, according to the complaint. He also said he needed to have the threats legally documented and sought information on how the threatening parties could access his home and personal information.

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