CLEVELAND — The former United States Attorney who oversaw the 2012 prosecution of the men convicted of attempting to blow up a Northeast Ohio bridge, said he was “upset and sad, but not surprised,” to learn one of those men, Brandon Baxter, was arrested again and now faces charges he possessed a potentially deadly toxin.
“This recent incident just verifies what we should have known all along which is that this is a person who is violent,” said Steven Deddelbach, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Dettelbach, who is now a partner at Cleveland-based law firm BakerHostetler, recalled federal prosecutors pushed for a longer prison sentence following Baxter’s 2012 conviction that would still have the 34-year-old locked up today.
“Look, I don’t mean to play Monday morning quarterback,” Dettelbach said. “People try to do their best, and I bear them no ill will. But I do think this is one of those individuals who should not have been released back into the community on this timetable.”
A judge sentenced Baxter to 117 months in federal prison and ordered supervised release for the rest of Baxter’s life. Records show Baxter was released from prison in October 2020.
On East Cleveland police body camera video released to News 5 Investigators, Baxter seemed to brag about his criminal past while barricaded in his apartment after police said he confronted officers with a machete as they responded to an unrelated shooting call at Baxter’s apartment complex last month.
“You really have no idea who I am, do you?” Baxter asked officers.
When an East Cleveland officer asked him his name, Baxter replied, “Anarchist. Domestic terrorist. Already convicted. Already convicted. Did eight and a half years. I am a convicted domestic terrorist. You are my enemy. I’m not leaving here alive.”
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Baxter eventually surrendered after sheriff’s deputies fired pepper balls into his apartment to force him out.
Police said after his arrest, Baxter admitted having ricin in his refrigerator.
He’s been in jail since his arrest and was indicted last week on federal charges including possessing a biological toxin.
Court records do not list an attorney for Baxter who is scheduled for arraignment Oct. 14.
Dettelbach hopes if Baxter’s convicted again, he stays locked up this time.
“We had information about who this individual was and what they wanted to do,” Dettelbach said. “And it’s to me, really unfortunate that we had to learn again the hard way.”
