Editing Luke Helder

{{Short description|American domestic terrorist}}{{Infobox criminal
| birth_name   = Lucas John Helder
| image_name     = LucasHelder.jpg
| image_size     = 
| image_caption  = Helder's FBI mugshot
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1981|05|05}}
| birth_place = [[Pine Island, Minnesota]]
| death_date  = 
| death_place = 
| education      =
| occupation     = [[Student]], [[Musician]]
| spouse         = 
| charge         = Mailbox [[pipe bomb]]ing
| conviction_penalty        = 
| conviction_status         = Incompetent to stand trial, [[Involuntary commitment|committed to Federal Bureau of Prisons mental health center]]
| parents        = 
| children       =
}}

'''Lucas John Helder''' (born May 5, 1981) also known as the '''Midwest Pipe Bomber''', is a former [[University of Wisconsin–Stout]] student from [[Pine Island, Minnesota]], known for being the suspect in a series of pipe bombings.

He was arrested in 2002 as a suspect in pipe bombings in mailboxes, which injured several people. In 2004, he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and is still incarcerated in a federal medical facility.

== Bombings ==
In 2002, while attending the [[University of Wisconsin&ndash;Stout]], Helder planned to plant [[pipe bomb|pipe bombs]] in mailboxes across the United States to create a [[smiley]] face shape on the United States map.<ref name= "TPR">{{cite news| url= http://tpr.org/post/who-might-be-behind-austin-bombings|title=Who Might Be Behind The Austin Bombings?|date=March 20, 2018|work= TPR.org | publisher= Texas Public Radio|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322020650/http://tpr.org/post/who-might-be-behind-austin-bombings|url-status=live}}</ref> The bombs, which were packed with [[BB gun|BB]]s and [[Nail (fastener)|nails]], were rigged to explode as the mailboxes were opened. Completed and rigged bombs were found in [[Nebraska]], [[Colorado]], [[Texas]], [[Illinois]] and [[Iowa]]. In Iowa, six people, including four mail carriers, were injured when the bombs detonated.<ref name="usps001">{{cite web | title = 2002 Annual Report of Investigations: Violent Crime | work = USPS.com |publisher= [[US Postal Service]]| year = 2002 | url = http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/ar02/ar02_04.htm | access-date = 2007-10-16 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231308/http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/ar02/ar02_04.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-09-26}}</ref> Ultimately, Helder planted 18 bombs and covered {{convert|3,200|mi}}.<ref name= "time001">{{cite magazine | last=Reaves | first=Jessica | title=Person of the Week: Lucas Helder | magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]]| date=May 9, 2002| url= http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,236525,00.html | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121023000335/http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,236525,00.html |archivedate= 2012-10-23 }}</ref> 

He was stopped by police in Nebraska, [[Oklahoma]], and Colorado for speeding and failure to wear a seat belt, but was not arrested.<ref>{{cite web | title=Pipe Bomb Suspect's Grungy Past | website=The Smoking Gun | date=April 8, 2011 | url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/pipe-bomb-suspects-grungy-past | access-date=February 15, 2023}}</ref>
Eventually he was captured in rural [[Nevada]] before he managed to complete the full smile. At the time of his arrest, police were looking for an unknown suspect driving a black [[Honda Accord]]. Many newspapers reported that he was wearing a [[Kurt Cobain]] T-shirt.<ref name="lt001">{{cite web | title = Dad aids son's capture | work = Leader-Telegram | publisher = Eau Claire Press Company | year = 2002 | url = http://www.leadertelegram.com/SpecialReports/Helder/5-8mainstory.asp | access-date = 2007-10-16 | archive-date = 2007-09-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927174305/http://www.leadertelegram.com/specialreports/Helder/5-8mainstory.asp | url-status = live }}</ref> When he was intercepted after a 40-mile [[car chase]], Helder held a gun to his head, but was convinced to lower it by [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] negotiators. Law enforcement discovered more IEDs in his vehicle.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Wasson |first=Mark |date=2023-04-17 |title=21 years ago a Pine Island man sent pipe bombs around the country. He's still being held in Rochester |url=https://www.postbulletin.com/news/the-vault/23-years-ago-a-pine-island-man-sent-pipe-bombs-around-the-country-hes-still-being-held-in-rochester |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=Rochester Post Bulletin |language=en}}</ref> The bombings were widely covered by the US [[News media (United States)|news media]].<ref name=":0" />

== Personality, writings and theories ==
[[File:Helder.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Helder performing with Apathy in his hometown of [[Pine Island, Minnesota]]]]
Helder was not at the top of his college class, but his professors described him as a reasonably good, quiet and polite student, and at first there was confusion as to what the motivation for the bombings could be.<ref name = "time001"/> Family, friends, and many acquaintances referred to Helder as normal and without a propensity to hurt people.<ref name="apn8">{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/354ed899b70ad245331a1dfac4097eee|title=Pipe Bomb Suspect Is Described|date=May 8, 2002|work=AP News|access-date=12 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="times9">{{cite news|url=https://nytimes.com/2002/05/09/us/bomb-suspect-gave-few-hints-of-violent-plan.html|title=Bomb Suspect Gave Few Hints Of Violent Plan|date=May 9, 2002|work=The New York Times|access-date=12 June 2021}}</ref> But his roommate noted that Helder had recently become obsessed with death, had begun smoking [[marijuana]],<ref name="apn8"/> and had been reciting extended monologues about his new spiritual beliefs to his friends (which they had mostly "laughed off").<ref name="times9"/>

Within the year prior to his arrest, Helder had become passionate about [[astral projection]] techniques and came to believe that death of the flesh and body is not the end of existence, as evidenced by the [[manifesto]] he sent to ''[[The Badger Herald]]'' of the [[University of Wisconsin&ndash;Madison]] at the beginning of the bombing spree.<ref name = "time001"/> The essay also includes statements such as <blockquote>"I'm taking very drastic measure in attempt to provide this information to you... I will die/change in the end for this, but that's ok, hahaha paradise awaits! I'm dismissing a few individuals from reality, to change all of you for the better"<ref name="man001">{{cite news|url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/luke-helder-manifesto|title=Pipe Bomb Suspect's Grungy Past|date=May 7, 2002|work=The Smoking Gun|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322020027/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/luke-helder-manifesto|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bad001">Lagorio, Christine. "News Analysis: Newspapers receipt of shady mail a daily occurrence." ''The Badger Herald'' May 10, 2002</ref></blockquote>

Notes attached to the bombs denounced [[government]] control over daily lives, denied that anyone who had died was really dead, and promised more of the same kind of message.<ref name="time001" />

== Trial ==
In April 2004, a federal judge found Helder incompetent to stand trial.<ref name="wqad001">{{cite web
 | last = Van Hyfte
 | first = Vanessa
 | title = Helder not fit to stand trial
 | work = WQAD Report
 | year = 2004
 | url = http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?s=1756862
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222552/http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?s=1756862
 |archive-date = 2007-09-27
 |access-date = 2018-03-21
}}</ref> While a judge could free Helder if doctors find he is not a threat to society, legal experts doubt this possibility due to the violent nature of his crimes. He has been diagnosed with [[schizoaffective disorder]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Victim of mailbox bombing hopes suspect gets well|website=Post Bulletin|url=http://www.postbulletin.com/news/crime/victim-of-mailbox-bombing-hopes-suspect-gets-well/article_38882ddd-c1ee-5871-ac03-9ede3085f5d1.html|last=Foley|first=Ryan|date=2013-05-18|access-date=2017-01-31}}</ref>

In 2013, a federal judge ordered Helder re-evaluated for competency to stand trial.<ref name="PP">{{cite news|url=https://www.twincities.com/2013/05/15/minnesotan-in-2002s-smiley-face-bomber-case-could-finally-face-trial/|title=Minnesotan in 2002's 'smiley face bomber' case could finally face trial|last=staff|date=May 15, 2013|work=Twin Cities Pioneer Press|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322081431/https://www.twincities.com/2013/05/15/minnesotan-in-2002s-smiley-face-bomber-case-could-finally-face-trial/|url-status=live}}</ref> Helder remains incarcerated in the [[FMC Rochester|Federal Medical Center]] in [[Rochester, Minnesota]], as of March 2025, with BOP Register Number 36460-048.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inmate Locator |url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=www.bop.gov}}</ref>

== Musical background ==

{{Infobox album
|italic_title = no 
|name = {{yesitalic|Sacks of People}}
| type       = Studio album
| artist     = Apathy
| cover      =
| alt        =
| released   = 2001
| recorded   = 
| studio     = Last Minute Records
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Alternative rock|Alternative Rock]]|[[Grunge]]}}
| length     = 43:54
| label      = 
| producer   = Michael Thompson
| chronology = 
| prev_title = 
| prev_year  = 
| next_title = 
| next_year  = 
}}

Prior to his bombing spree, Helder was a member of Apathy, a [[Rochester, Minnesota]], three-piece [[grunge]] band. Although the band was successful only on a local scale, they recorded a CD, ''Sacks of People'', at the end of their first summer together. They funded and released the album themselves. Helder was a fan of [[Kurt Cobain]]. He heavily decorated his dorm room with [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] posters and ephemera. A bandmate in Apathy remarked Helder had "an interesting style of singing" and would write much of the lyrics of the group's tracks, not having a full understanding of their meaning.<ref name="nme8">{{cite news| url= https://www.nme.com/news/music/nirvana-257-1379460|title= Alleged Pipe Bomber a Huge Kurt Cobain Fan| date= May 8, 2002| work= NME| access-date=12 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="post8">{{cite news| url=https://www.postbulletin.com/bandmate-doesn-t-think-helder-out-to-get-the-government/article_6c158820-d576-55b8-bfac-9f019ee2f629.html |title=Bandmate doesn't think Helder 'out to get the government'|date=May 8, 2002|work=Post Bulletin|access-date=12 June 2021}}</ref>

When the news broke that Helder was the pipe bomber, the media made significant mention of his status as a musician.<ref name="cnn001">{{cite web|last=Feldman |first=Charles |title=Feds: Suspect admitted pipe bomb spree. |work=CNN.com |date=May 9, 2002 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/05/08/mailbox.pipebombs/index.html |access-date=2007-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117123142/https://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/05/08/mailbox.pipebombs/index.html |archive-date=November 17, 2007 }}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Improvised explosive device]]
*[[Ted Kaczynski]]
*[[Austin serial bombings]]
*[[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://lasvegassun.com/news/2004/apr/02/the-timeline-of-events-in-the-case-of-accused-mail/ Las Vegas Sun timeline of Helder's activities]
* [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/lukehelder1.html The Smoking Gun archive on Luke Helder, with the six-page manifesto]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Helder, Luke}}
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Menomonie, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from Pine Island, Minnesota]]
[[Category:People with schizoaffective disorder]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin&ndash;Stout alumni]]
[[Category:People declared mentally unfit for court]]
[[Category:Serial bombers]]