Oh fuck you already guessed. Anyway the Tampa Bay Times reports registered Republican voter Bryan Robert Eckley had previously been arrested on an aggravated assault charge on September 26th after getting into an argument with another man – “about politics” according to local police reports – and then showing up again at the man’s front door and pointing a rifle at the man’s face. Eckley then fired a shot into the air during that confrontation, for which he’s awaiting trial.
Three days later Eckley was spotted on surveillance video inside the Hard Rock Tampa Casino planting the two remote controlled explosive devices in the men’s room. An arrest warrant filed in Hillsborough County said the device consisted of a “fireworks receiver with blue wires connecting the receiver to a black plastic firework hand grenade and a small aerial mortar.” The warrant noted that one IED was found near a gas line, and both were placed in a manner that “had they detonated, it posed a risk of serious bodily injury to anyone in the vicinity.” The investigation took a month, but cops tied Eckley to the bombing attempt based on evidence gathered in the gun threat arrest.
It’s not clear yet if there was any connection between the two crimes, though obviously it’d be pretty on-brand for a Florida MAGA voter to try to blow a dude up in a casino over a political argument.