Explosion at Chicago University dorm uncovers student’s plot against Azerbaijani officials Chicago Sun-Times reveals details

An article in the Chicago Sun-Times has unveiled troubling details about an explosion at a University of Chicago dormitory last year, which has led to serious federal charges against a former student.

The piece reveals that Aram Brunson, a student of Armenian descent, is accused of making bombs that he planned to use for militant action against Azerbaijanis, Caliber.Az reports. 

Officials responded to a fire Jan. 2, 2023, at the Woodlawn Commons dormitory at 1156 E. 61st St., where they found flames in Aram Brunson’s dorm, according to charges filed this week in federal court. Bomb technicians also found chemicals used to make explosives.

Brunson, 21, is of Armenian descent and was allegedly making bombs with the mission to assist Armenians living in a contested territory in Azerbaijan, according to the federal complaint. 

“We believe he engaged in a calculated scheme to conceal his efforts to develop bomb-making skills and construct an explosive device in support of his violent extremist activity,” Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, said in a news release. He initially lied to authorities, saying he was trying to mimic an internet prank that involved blowing up an iPhone with black powder, the complaint says. 

Further investigation revealed that Brunson was recording videos of himself teaching viewers how to build bombs and discussing “how to form, fund and arm a revolutionary group,” federal prosecutors said. “The videos show Brunson in front of a whiteboard lecturing as if he is an expert in these topics, and plainly seeking to assist Armenian speakers in the formation and operation of an armed militant terrorist organization,” the complaint states. He also allegedly detailed potential assassination targets in his videos, including an Azerbaijani military official and several political figures in Azerbaijan. 

Brunson made internet searches for locations of Turkish and Azerbaijani diplomatic facilities around the world, including in Washington, D.C., and in Boston, which is near his hometown of Newton, Massachusetts, the complaint says. Those internet searches were coupled with searches for building access and grappling hooks, according to the complaint. “Relatedly, the week before he set off the black powder device in his dormitory room, Brunson conducted the following search, ‘if you shoot someone whos [sic] inside an embassy from outside of the embassy what country do you go to jail in,’” the complaint states. Brunson moved back to Massachusetts after the explosion at his dorm room. 

On August 20, 2023, he planned to fly from Boston to Armenia, with his grandmother and a family friend, but he was stopped by TSA officials at Boston Logan International Airport after they detected traces of an explosive material in his bag, according to prosecutors. He allegedly lied to federal authorities, claiming he didn’t know why his bag set off security alarms, and he was allowed to leave the country for Armenia where he’s believed to still reside, according to the complaint.

Three days later, officials searched Brunson’s home in Newton, where they found a detailed formula to create a chemical explosive, the complaint says. Prosecutors said that although federal authorities have tried contacting Brunson to persuade him to come back to the US and speak with law enforcement officials, he has declined to return.