A man carrying an explosive device capable of damaging an aircraft was arrested after trying to pass through security at Sacramento International Airport, federal prosecutors say.
Authorities allege the 49-year-old Sacramento resident, named as Kimani Osayande Jones, who also uses the last name Jackson, arrived at the checkpoint on Saturday wearing latex gloves and a face-covering scarf while carrying a suspicious collection of items, including an explosive device, a torch lighter, a knife, zip ties and five cell phones.
According to prosecutors, one phone had a 15-minute countdown timer running, while another displayed a chilling message reading: “We will be awaiting your call.”
Bomb technicians later examined the device — a cardboard tube fitted with a fuse — and determined it contained viable explosive material.
Federal officials warned that if detonated next to a window on a pressurized aircraft at cruising altitude, it could have damaged the plane and potentially caused a loss of cabin pressure.
The suspect was arrested at the airport and appeared in federal court on Wednesday. He now faces a charge of unlawfully possessing explosive material in an airport.
The criminal complaint also alleges he made “rambling” calls to the FBI in the months beforehand to report he was being threatened and intimidated.
His attorney has pushed back on the government’s account, saying there is more to the case than the allegations currently made public and that further details will emerge through the legal process.
It wasn’t immediately clear how extensively the man was searched at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.
Airport screening underwent a notable change in 2025, when the U.S. stopped requiring travelers to take off their shoes during security screenings. Screenings without shoes became a requirement in 2006, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed 2001 attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami.
