Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to leaving explosives outside PNC Plaza

A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to leaving a backpack full of combustibles near PNC Plaza in Downtown Pittsburgh last year.

Matthew Michanowicz, 53, pleaded guilty to one charge of violating federal firearms laws.

Michanowicz, of the city’s Duquesne Heights neighborhood, was arrested by Pittsburgh police in early June 2020, days after hundreds converged across the city to protest police brutality, spurred by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Police found the backpack June 1 and used surveillance footage to connect the backpack to Michanowicz.

Protesters gathered in Downtown on May 30, and clashes with police left damage throughout the area. Michanowicz told police he’d gone Downtown on May 31 to see the damage left over from the protests, but claimed he had no bag with him.

Surveillance footage, however, showed Michanowicz arriving at PNC Plaza, then taking a backpack from the handlebars of his bicycle and depositing it under a tree, according to the charges filed against him.

Michanowicz agreed that it was him in the video footage but denied having a backpack with him, according to court records. He said he found a paper bag of what he assumed was trash next to the bike rack, so he picked it up and carried it to a trash can.

Michanowicz was arrested and taken to the Allegheny County Jail, though he was later released on $100,000 bond.

That evening, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched Michanowicz’s home and found bundles of fuses, some partially burned fuse remnants and a syringe with a “strong odor consistent with an ignitable liquid,” according to the charges. They also found camouflage backpacks like the one found near PNC Plaza.

Michanowicz’s bond was revoked, and he was arrested when he tried to sneak back into his home around 10 p.m. that night, authorities said.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 13 in front of U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose. Michanowicz could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.