Search warrants reveal ‘white supremacist material,’ guns, TATP found in Beaver Dam apartment

Rose Schmidt by Rose Schmidt







Unsealed search warrants reveal that several containers of explosives, as well as guns, ammunition and “white supremacist material” were found in a Beaver Dam apartment building.

An explosion in apartment No. 11 at 109 Knaup Drive left one man dead in March. DNA analysis later confirmed that man to be Benjamin Morrow, 28, of Beaver Dam.

TATP can explode if subjected to heat, friction, static electricity or shock. Fire officials conducted a controlled burn of the building weeks later after determining that was the only way to safely remove volatile chemicals found inside.

Search warrants revealed investigators found a cardboard box with the letters “TATP” written on it inside Morrow’s garage. The box contained a 1-liter bottle full of a white powder or white crystalline substance, according to the testimony of a special agent with the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

In his testimony, the special agent said the investigators recognized TATP as the acronym meaning triacetone triperoxide, a highly volatile and “extremely sensitive homemade explosive.”

TATP was reportedly used in the bombs in the Paris attack in 2015, and New York Central Park explosion in 2016 , according to published reports.

Thirteen medium-sized jars filled with a white substance believed to be TATP were inside a mini fridge in apartment No. 11, according to the documents.

The search warrants were originally sealed, News 3 learned. The special agent requested they be sealed because authorities didn’t know if Morrow was working alone or with co-conspirators, according to his testimony,

When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man’s body lying in the apartment directly in front of the kitchen stove, which had a burner turned on. The patio doors and windows were blown off, suggesting an explosion, according to the court documents.

The documents show a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found at least three long guns and additional ammunition in the apartment.

Several other explosive materials were found in the apartment, including packaging investigators believed contained a binary explosive, which could be shot with a firearm and would explode.

Containers of acetone, an ingredient used to make TATP, were found inside Morrow’s home, along with a quart of muriatic acid, which can be used to make some types of illegal narcotics.

Officials testified they were concerned Morrow could also have had a storage unit outside the apartment building.

The white supremacist literature was found in the bedroom. It’s not clear if Morrow identified as a white supremacist.

Officials in Beaver Dam have said they believe there is no link to terrorism.

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