Stockham, then 63 years old and a resident of Imperial Beach, California had made threatening statements towards the mosque, and was arrested in the parking lot with powerful class C fireworks in his vehicle.
"[8] Stockham was convicted of kidnapping in the airplane incident and arson for the Lompoc explosion but deemed legally insane and sent to Patton State Hospital instead of prison.
[5] In 1985, Stockham was arrested at Reno-Cannon International Airport for planting a pipe bomb and carrying an unregistered firearm, an incident covered in the Los Angeles Times.
In his profile on the VFW website, he is described as a "typical surfer" whose other hobbies include water skiing, sailing, and go cart racing.
[9] In 2002 he pled not guilty by reason of insanity to threatening to blow up a Veterans Administration center in Vermont and making threats against President George W.
[13][14] His newly appointed attorney also insisted his client isn't anti-Muslim as Stockham had converted to Islam[15] soon after serving in Vietnam in 1974 and spoke of his outrage over U.S. conduct in Iraq.
The chairman of the board for the Islamic Center of America, Afif Jawad, who attended the hearing, said he and other leaders continue to meet with local and federal law enforcement officials about the incident.
[16][17][18] On January 28, 2011, Imam Sayyid Hassan al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America addressed the Shi'ite Muslim community regarding the plot.