Accused MLK Day Bomber Pleads Not Guilty

SPOKANE, WA - A Washington state man has pleaded not guilty to charges of leaving a bomb along the planned route of a parade to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Kevin W. Harpham was indicted Wednesday for allegedly placing the bomb on the route of a Unity March in Spokane, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported.

The bomb was discovered by three contract workers moments before the march was due to pass, the newspaper said.

Federal agents arrested Harpham at his home in Colville, Wash., March 9.

Harpham, who allegedly authored more than 1,000 postings on a racist Web site, faces up to life in prison if convicted on the charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

U.S. District Judge Justin L. Quackenbush set a trial date of May 31.

Harpham's attorney said Spokane County deputies are keeping his client largely segregated from other inmates in the jail while he awaits trial.

"He's in the higher-security portion of the jail than normal based on the seriousness of the charges," Roger Peven, executive director of Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington, said.