A now-former paralegal at a New York City district attorney's office was arrested this week for allegedly planning to injure migrants by blowing up a local shelter with a homemade explosive device.
Derek Klever, reportedly told an unidentified witness that he was tired of the migrants at the shelter partying all night, and devised a plan to hurt them. The witness said he had constructed an improvised explosive device using fireworks and nail gun cartridges.
"This is a war," Klever told the witness, according to police. "I wish I had a big enough one to blow them back to Venezuela."
A complaint filed in a Queens criminal court claimed that Klever did not want to kill the migrants, but instead wanted to ensure they "live in terror and fear every day."
Police were sent to investigate Klever and quickly arrested him, subsequently finding the fireworks and cartridges, along with a BB gun, suspicious wiring, and an undisclosed substance, during a search of his residence.
Klever was brought before the court, where he pleaded not guilty to "making a terroristic threat and criminal possession of a weapon," according to the New York Times. Following the charges, the District Attorney's office immediately fired Klever from his role as a trial preparation assistant.
Dennis Lemke, Klever's lawyer, confirmed that he is in jail and plans to post bail as early as this weekend.
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