HARRISONBURG, Va. (WRIC) – A Virginia man pled guilty this week to planting a pipe bomb at a Middletown battlefield during a Civil War reenactment event in 2017, and now faces up to a decade in prison.
Gerald Leonard Drake, 63, from Winchester, pled guilty on Monday, April 17 to possession of an unregistered explosive device and stalking.
According to court documents, Drake participated in the annual Civil War reenactment at Cedar Creek Battlefield with a reenactment unit until 2014, and also volunteered with the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation (CCBF), which hosts an annual reenactment event.
In court this week, Drake admitted that in 2017, he had created a pipe bomb using a metal nuts, a 9-volt battery, black and red wires, a mercury switch, black powder substitute Pryodez and BBs. He also admitted that he had placed this bomb in a merchant tent during the CCBF’s annual reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 14, 2017 in order to scare and hurt reenactment attendees.
Because Drake had placed this device, the reenactment was cancelled for the remainder of the day and attendees had to be evacuated until the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police could investigate and determine the area was safe.
In addition to admitting to making and placing the bomb, Drake also admitted in court that he had written threatening letters to the CCBF and news agencies throughout 2017 and 2018. In these letters, Drake claimed to be a member of Antifa and told the organization to cancel their annual reenactment, saying that if they did not, the violence against the event would make the riots that took place in Charlottesville in August 2017 look like “a Sunday picnic.”
Drake continued write threatening letters to the CCBF after placing the bomb, all while continuing his work as a volunteer for the organization.
Drake now faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing.
“This defendant sought to intimidate and harm innocent people, and further, he tried to sow discontent by falsely claiming that the attempted bombing was politically motivated,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said. “I am deeply grateful to the first responders for their work to quickly neutralize the bomb, as well as the special agents of the FBI and the federal prosecutors who – for years – tirelessly worked this case to identify Mr. Drake and bring him to justice.”
