Florida woman arrested for dozens of pipe bombs ‘consumed’ by Columbine, Oklahoma City attacks

Authorities announced Friday the arrest of a Florida woman charged in connection with two dozen pipe bombs and other weapons found in her Tampa Bay-area home.

Michelle Kolts, 27, was arrested and charged with 24 counts of making a destructive device with intent to harm, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced at a press conference.

She was arrested the previous evening after authorities found the pipe bombs while responding to a 911 call placed by her parents, the sheriff told reporters.
Authorities dispatched to family’s home found a total of 24 pipe bombs, smokeless pistol powder, fuse material, 23 different knives, two hatchets, nunchucks, various BB guns and “dozens of books and DVDs” about murder, bomb-making and domestic terrorism, the sheriff said at the press conference.

“The amount of highly destructive materials we found in this home were astonishing,” Sheriff Chronister said. “What is even more frightening is that each pipe bomb contained nails, metallic pellets or a combination of both, and [it] would have taken less than 60 seconds per device to add the powder and fuse material she already possessed to detonate each bomb.

“If used these bombs could have caused catastrophic damage and harm to hundreds, even thousands of people,” the sheriff said.

Authorities located Ms. Kolts after making the discovery and arrested her without incident, Sheriff Chronister said. She is being held on a $180,000 bond, according to arrest records. It was not immediately clear if she had secured legal representation.

Police first became aware of the woman in August 2018 after receiving a tip from an online publishing company, the sheriff told reporters. Authorities learned that she had ordered several suspicious items and determined she had become “consumed” with the 1999 Columbine school shooting and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Ms. Kolts had not been diagnosed with any type of mental health condition at the time and said that it was not her intention to harm anyone, Sheriff Chronister said.

Questioned by police this week, Ms. Kolts admitted making the pipe bombs and said she planned to use them on people, the sheriff told reporters.

“While this case is certainly alarming, it is not to demonize another individual struggling with mental health,” he said. “It’s to highlight the importance of speaking up when you see something that isn’t right and what can be prevented when you do.

“Who knows the amount of harm that could have been done or how many lives that could have been lost had these parents not found the courage to call the sheriff’s office and seek help,” Sheriff Chronister said. “We can’t say it enough: If you see something, say something.”

Two students of Columbine High School murdered 12 classmates during the mass shooting. Two domestic terrorists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, were convicted for the Oklahoma City attack that killed 168.