A northern Michigan man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison in connection with an extortion scheme in which shrapnel-filled pipe bombs were planted outside cell phone stores in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and Cheboygan. In July, John Douglas Allen, 76, pleaded guilty to extortion by unlawful use of force, violence and fear, and two counts of attempted destruction of a building by means of an explosive device. The Whittemore, Mich., man was sentenced this week to 75 months before United States District Judge Thomas Ludington in Bay City, Mich. According to court records, Allen admitted that on Sept. 15, 2021, around 7:30 p.m., he placed a United States Postal Service box with black tape and a wire coming out of it outside the AT&T store in Sault, Mich. Later that night, Allen placed another USPS box outside a Verizon store in Cheboygan. The devices were examined by the FBI’s laboratory explosives unit, which concluded that they were both improvised explosive devices. Both pipe bombs contained shrapnel, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan noted in a news release. Threatening notes demanding $5 million were placed on cellphone towers in the area and also mailed to telecommunications companies. Allen was identified based on video from cell phone stores and other nearby businesses. Allen said he was motivated by what he considered immoral content spread on the Internet and on cellphones. Allen’s actions endangered not only the lives of innocent people, but also the first responders and bomb technicians who disarmed the devices, said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “The defendant attempted to use terror, threats and bombs to intimidate ordinary people going about their business,” added US Attorney Dawn N. Ison. “We will not tolerate people who use fear to try to line their pockets.” James A. Tarasca, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, called the defendant’s behavior “extraordinary.” The case involved a number of investigative agencies, including special agents, intelligence analysts, troopers, deputies and officers from the FBI, Michigan State Police, Cheboygan County Sherriff’s Office, Cheboygan Police Department, Sault Ste. Marie Police Dept., Sault Ste. Marie Tribal Police, the US Coast Guard Bureau of Investigation, the US Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
