Steven William Nauta, who allegedly claimed to have C4 explosives in his vehicle and sped through a security checkpoint at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Michigan over the weekend, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him on Monday.
Nauta is facing four state charges, including making a false threat of terrorism and possession of bomb-making materials. According to a court official, he pleaded not guilty to each charge.
During his arraignment, the court set Nauta’s bond at $1 million, and he was placed under house arrest, as confirmed by the official, according to CNN.
In the complaint against Nauta, prosecutors allege that he “approached a traffic point” and “held a bottle to police and stated that it was ‘C4’ explosive and that it was the ‘real deal.’”
The complaint says he sped past the traffic point, disobeyed commands by officers to stop and, when he finally stopped after being chased by police, “removed bags of fertilizer from his vehicle and threw them on the ground to make it appear that they were explosives.”
Nauta told law enforcement, the complaint says, that “he intended to make officers, and others, believe that he had explosives.”
A federal source familiar with the incident told CNN that no explosives were found in Nauta’s vehicle. The charges against Nauta note that the fertilizer he allegedly removed from his vehicle can be used to make explosives.
Walker police said in a Facebook post that the incident took place near the end of Trump’s event. The Detroit News wrote that “Nauta eventually came to a stop in the parking lot of a nearby business. The Walker police department said Nauta never entered the parking area of the event location and no explosives were found in the man’s vehicle.”
‘We are grateful for the efficient teamwork that ended this incident quickly, safely, and without interruption to the event or unneeded panic to it’s attendees,’ the post said.
Of the charges Nauta faces, false threat of terrorism carries the highest penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.”
Donald Trump has faced multiple assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign.
