Mississippi flag backer accused of tossing bomb in Wal-Mart

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — A police chief says a 61-year-old Mississippi man has been accused of bombing a Wal-Mart because the chain stopped selling his state's flags.

carrieheals

Nov 3, 2015

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — A police chief says a 61-year-old Mississippi man has been accused of bombing a Wal-Mart because the chain stopped selling his state’s flags.

Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre (uh-GEE-ree) says the explosive made a bang but did no damage when it was thrown into a 24-hour Wal-Mart early Sunday.

He says Marshall Leonard of Tupelo is jailed on a charge of detonating an explosive, and police are searching his car and home.

He says Leonard does not yet have an attorney who could comment.

Aguirre says Leonard allegedly lit a newspaper-wrapped package and threw it into the store.

He says Leonard is known for flying a 4-foot-long state flag from his silver Mazda, and was arrested after the bombing early Sunday when he ran a red light near the Walmart.