Sept. 2 (UPI) — Police apprehended a New Jersey man Monday after they discovered several pipe bomb-like devices near the route of a Labor Day parade in South Plainfield that the governor was expected to attend.
The annual parade was canceled after homemade explosives were uncovered in a wooded area near the route, police said. Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy, had planned to march in the 62nd parade starting at 10 a.m.
Police said the explosives were found during an investigation not related to the parade, and that the explosives were not tied to the parade.
The man who was detained had “over half a dozen” devices on his large property near the parade route, an official with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said. He was described as a “rogue individual” in his 50s who liked explosives.
The governor also was to appear at a parade in Rutherford at 12:30 p.m., but it was cancelled because of rain.
