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Order from a pyrotechnic supplier
According to the probable-cause-for-arrest statement, a receipt later subpoenaed from the supplier Skylighter shows an order on this date, shipped to Mr. Gordon in Salem, for quarter-inch time fuse and a four-pound thermite kit.
Source: Statement, p. 4
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Package shipped to Bedford, New Hampshire
The statement says a package addressed to Mr. Gordon, with a USPS label of this date from OpticsPlanet, was delivered to his mother’s home in Bedford. She opened it; the statement says it held four magazines and a pistol grip. The statement does not say Mr. Gordon ever collected it.
Source: Statement, pp. 1–2
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Two sources contact police
According to the statement, two cooperating sources tell State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office that Mr. Gordon ordered firearm parts shipped to New Hampshire, intending to bring them to Salem. Investigators then obtain his Amazon order history through emergency subpoenas and receive postal records of shipments to his home.
Source: Statement, pp. 1–3
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Surveillance and the Stateline purchase
State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office set up surveillance in anticipation of Patrick Gordon going to Bedford for the magazines. They follow him instead from Salem to Stateline Guns Ammo & Archery in Plaistow, New Hampshire. The Commonwealth’s statement says a trooper stated he saw gun magazines in Mr. Gordon’s bag, and that Mr. Gordon then drove to his workplace in Massachusetts. The store’s sales journal records invoice 101943 at 4:39 PM: four boxes of Federal small pistol primers, $52.00.
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Search warrants granted; arrest and search
According to page 5 of the probable-cause-for-arrest statement, three search warrants are sought and granted in Essex County Superior Court, for Mr. Gordon’s residence, his person and his car. At about 3:35 PM troopers stop his car and arrest him, then search the residence. The statement reports AR-style rifle receiver parts, what it calls flash powder, and a list of 43 items, including “400 Number 100 primers.” It reports no magazines found.
Source: Statement, pp. 5–7 · What happened
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Arraignment in Salem District Court
Mr. Gordon is arraigned and bail is set at $100,000 cash, as reported by WBZ-TV. The court’s docket for the case filed this day lists two charges: possession of an incendiary device (G.L. c. 266, § 102(a)) and unlicensed possession of an assault weapon (c. 140, § 131M). The Attorney General’s Office publishes a press release and a photograph of seized items.
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Store prints its sales journal
The owner of Stateline Guns, Ammo & Archery prints the Sales/Return Journal for December 18, 2025 for Invention Incarnate. The print date appears on the document.
Source: Exhibit 2
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New defense counsel appears
Attorney Philip Doherty files an appearance for Mr. Gordon.
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Probable-cause hearing date
A probable-cause hearing is scheduled in Salem District Court. According to Invention Incarnate, it was continued and no evidence was taken.
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Indictment filed
A ten-count indictment, ESCR2026-83, is filed in Essex County Superior Court, eight more counts than the two charges on the December docket. The case proceeds under docket 2677CR00083.
Source: The charges
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Written request for the search-warrant files
After in-person attempts, including one on October 7, a written request for the three returned search-warrant files is sent to the Clerk of Courts.
Source: Update
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Clerk’s office replies: the files are impounded
The Office of the Essex County Clerk of Courts replies by email that it has located the search-warrant materials and that they are “impounded by order of the Superior Court until December 22, 2026.” The reply does not give the date or docket entry of the impoundment order.
Source: Update
Now
The case is pending in Essex County Superior Court in Salem, Massachusetts. Mr. Gordon remains held on $100,000 cash bail. The search-warrant files are impounded until December 22, 2026, one year after the warrants were granted. New developments are posted on the updates page.