Traveler With Explosive Arrested

Former Mayor Says Man Nabbed At Okla. Airport Is 'No Terrorist'

(AP)  A small explosive device was found in a passenger's carryon bag as the man passed through a checkpoint, and federal agents arrested him, the FBI said Thursday.

Officials have found no apparent connection between Charles Alfred Dreyling Jr. and any terrorist group or activity, said Agent Gary Johnson, an FBI spokesman.

Dreyling, 24, was going through the security checkpoint at Will Rogers World Airport on Wednesday when a Transportation Security Administration employee noticed something suspicious in his bag on the X-ray machine, Johnson said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Troester described the device as a carbon-dioxide cartridge with a black-powder detonator.

But Dreyling's landlord, former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, said he had created a “glorified firecracker” and forgot it was in his luggage.

“I know Charlie Dreyling quite well,” Humphreys said. “I appreciate what the authorities are doing making our airlines safe. I have every confidence that they'll find out Charlie Dreyling is a fine young man and no terrorist.”

Dreyling had planned to take a Delta flight that travels to Philadelphia through Atlanta, airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said.

He was at the Oklahoma County jail on a federal hold and was to appear before a federal magistrate Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Attorney's office said. He could face charges related to possessing an explosive device at an airport, Johnson said.

The arrest did not disrupt any flights, Carney said.