Passenger checked bag with explosive at Pennsylvania Airport, FBI says

A 40-year-old man was arrested this week on federal charges after he checked a suitcase containing an explosive for a flight to Florida at a Pennsylvania airport, the FBI said. The suitcase checked by Marc Muffley, of Lansford, Pa., at an Allegient Air counter at Lehigh Valley International Airport for a flight to Orlando, Fla. on Monday was flagged by an alarm during a TSA screening, Eddie Garcia, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said in a criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Officials with the Transportation Security Administration found a “circular compound” with fuses attached inside the suitcase, and an FBI team determined that it was an explosive, the complaint said. The FBI said that Muffley, who was paged over the airport’s speaker system at about 11:40 a.m. on Monday after the TSA screening, left the airport five minutes after being asked to report to the security desk, security camera footage shows. He was arrested late Monday night and charged with possession of an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft. The immediate area of the airport was evacuated “out of an abundance of caution,” the TSA said. Mr. Muffley remained in custody on Wednesday, pending a court hearing on Thursday, the FBI said. <br/>