Michael Ramos poses in front of a Gadsen flag

Michael Ramos was the president of Patriot Armor, Inc. in Largo, Florida—a company that sells military-style ballistic vests and gear. His friend and co-founder of Patriot Gear, Kenneth Ray O'Neill, II, went to Ramos’ home and Ramos showed him a stockpile he’d been working on:

A military-style vest with a protective plate from Patriot Armor

Detectives said O'Neill went to Ramos' home around January 16. That's when he saw a shoe-box-sized wooden crate in Ramos' bedroom holding four or six pipe bombs. O'Neill said he thought the bombs were made with 1.25 inch PVC pipe with green fuses. O'Neill said he asked Ramos about the devices and Ramos confirmed they were bombs he made himself. He also said he used his girlfriend's credit cart to buy the materials from Amazon.com. Ramos said he made the "black powder" filler with supplies and chemicals purchased from Amazon.com, then added "bird shot" to the powder. Written in the affidavit, Ramos said "it would kill the neighbors if one of the bombs went off." Ramos told O'Neill he used black powder instead of "flash powder" because flash powder was instable. When asked why he had the bombs, Ramos told O'Neill "if [expletive] hits the fan, you never know if you might need it."

According to Fox13 News in Tampa, O’Neill had a 2002 conviction for “transfer of destructive devices, specifically pipe bombs.” O’Neill did the right thing, called law enforcement and helped them during the investigation. Ramos had eight pipe bombs, smoke grenades, tear gas, an AK-47 assault rifle and more.

Once in custody, Ramos claimed to be part of the “United States Patriot Army,” saying it was a St. Petersburg, Florida based militia. For his part, O’Neill seems to be busy cutting all business and personal ties to Ramos. Law enforcement have not yet confirmed what charges Ramos may face.

See the full video report from Fox13news.com: