‘Trump you need me’: Suspect facing federal charges after bomb hoax shuts FBI Tampa field office
Exclusive details: A sign left at the scene read: ‘My name is Nicki Goodman. Abolish government. Trump you need me... Kill all [n-words].’
A suspect is behind bars following a bizarre situation that shut down an FBI facility for some five hours on Tuesday morning.
Nicki Wayne Goodman is facing one count of conveying false information to perpetuate a hoax, according to a federal complaint reviewed by The Independent. The charge carries a prison term of up to five years.
Goodman’s arrest was covered by local news outlets, but his identity, along with details of what occurred, have not been previously reported. Public records show Goodman, 49, has lived between Florida, Alabama, and Michigan and has an extensive arrest record.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Goodman’s father Dennis said he was aware of his son’s arrest but told The Independent, “I don’t have no comment. Thank you.”
In an email, Goodman's federal defender Douglas Stamm said, “Pursuant to my office’s policy I am not permitted to discuss case-related matters with the media.”
At about 6:30 a.m. on May 20, a “suspicious black bag and cardboard sign” were discovered outside the main entrance to the FBI’s Tampa field office, says an affidavit filed by an FBI task force officer in support of the criminal complaint against Goodman.
A photo included in the affidavit shows the crudely lettered sign opened with, “Don’t move[,] I [sic] be back,” after which it displayed a YouTube handle, listed the names of several FBI agents from the bureau’s Birmingham, Alabama field office, and went on to state: “My name is Nicki Goodman. Abolish government. Trump you need me. Together we the people. Kill all [n-words].”
On his YouTube channel, Goodman rambles incoherently about the LGBTQ community, claims the government is out to “break” him, and says his “main concern” is to protect women and children from “drug traffickers” and “pedophiles.”
The Tampa Police Department’s bomb squad and patrol units were deployed to the scene, as well as Tampa Fire Rescue engines and ambulances, an FBI bomb technician, Task Force officers, and special agents, the affidavit goes on.
“The public safety response resulted in the closure of the public roadways near the incident, denied access to public businesses, and the shutdown of FBI’s Tampa Field Office for approximately five hours,” the affidavit continues.
A search of the backpack revealed nothing dangerous – it contained, among other things, hypodermic needles, a pair of men’s underwear, a bottle of air freshener, deodorant, “feminine products,” and folded-up aluminum foil, according to the affidavit.
No explosive material of any kind was detected, the affidavit states.
Agents reviewed surveillance footage from outside the building, and spotted “an individual... at approximately 8:58 p.m., deliberately placing a black backpack near the security gate house and quickly turning and leaving the area,” the affidavit alleges. “Then, at approximately 12:25 a.m., I observed the same individual on the surveillance footage near the main entrance, leaving the above cardboard sign within the mulch on the east side of the parking area.”
The same person can be seen roughly 90 minutes later, lingering by the building’s main entrance before walking out of camera view, according to the affidavit, which says the individual returned again and “left multiple pieces of cardboard with handwritten notes on each.”
Agents then looked at the YouTube channel listed on the cardboard sign, which featured a video in which Goodman stood by as emergency responders descended on the FBI office minutes earlier, the affidavit states. In the clip, the man says, “See all the way down that street right there? Guess that’s cause of me... Look at that s***. That’s crazy huh? Wrote a few notes. Found a bag... They got the SWAT team. They got the, look like they got a bomb squad or something going on there.”
The law enforcement dragnet quickly located the suspect in the immediate vicinity, and placed him under arrest, according to the affidavit.
He told arresting officers that he “placed the backpack at the FBI so that children would not find it,” the affidavit alleges. However, it says the “method and placement of the backpack, along with the cardboard signs, was done in such a manner as to cause responding personnel to believe there could be explosive material within the backpack.”
“Additionally, Goodman intentionally placed the backpack at the main secured entry/exit point of the FBI, which is used for vehicle and foot traffic,” the affidavit states.
A search of Goodman’s social media accounts may shed some light on a potential motive, according to the affidavit. In February, it says he posted on his Facebook profile, “I KNOW TODAY IM GOING TO END THIS S***. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. THESE FBI DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PUKES. ARE GOING TO GET HELL RAINED ON THEM.”
Goodman is due to appear in Tampa federal court on Thursday afternoon.