ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A former Grandfather Mountain Highland Games employee pleaded not guilty to charges relating to an explosive device planted at the event in September 2021.
On Wednesday, Thomas Dewey Taylor, Jr., 43, appeared in federal court in Asheville and pleaded not guilty to three charges. Taylor is accused of attempting to damage and destroy with an explosive device, possessing a destructive device not registered to him, and making a destructive device.
Taylor was first arrested when the explosive device was discovered at the games' office in Linville in September 2021. Additionally, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was notified that he was suspected of embezzling money and committing financial credit card theft. Agents responded to investigate and found what was described as an improvised explosive device (IED). This prompted the SBI, Avery County Sheriff's Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to respond.
Taylor was taken to jail on three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He is in an ongoing court case in Avery County for those charges with his next court hearing scheduled for March 13.
Taylor was arrested on Tuesday for the federal charges. He waived his detention hearing and will remain in custody with no bond. His next date in federal court is scheduled for May 6.
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