Pipe bomb threat forces evacuation at Illinois ethanol plant

(The Center Square) – State and federal officials evacuated people within a mile of an ethanol production plant in Peoria Friday night after finding a pipe bomb inside the plant.

The Details

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker confirmed state police responded to the incident. The FBI, U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security were all also present in the response.

At a news conference around 1 a.m. on Saturday, Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said the device reported in the afternoon was neutralized, but the evacuation could last into the weekend.

“It's a large facility. There's going to be an exhaustive search of the facility. That has not been completed yet,” Dixon said. “If you've seen the facility we're talking about, it is a very large facility. It's going to require in-depth search. So, we will likely be well into tomorrow. Probably late into the weekend.”

At around 7 p.m. Friday, residents within the 1-mile radius surrounding the BioUrja Renewables ethanol plant, formerly a plant for Archer-Daniels-Midland company, were asked to evacuate.

Officials said the blast radius covered more than 3 square miles. Boat traffic on the Illinois River and the motor vehicle traffic on bridges across it was blocked.

Dixon wouldn’t confirm if there were more devices found, or if there was any additional danger posed, despite rumors spread online claiming additional devices had been found at the plant.

Springfield FBI field office Special Agent in Charge Ryan Presley said the agency is investigating the incident alongside local law enforcement.

“While it is early in the investigation, know this – we will work tirelessly to identify the individual responsible and bring them to justice,” Presley said.

Emergency shelters were set up at nearby schools, with city officials confirming they were working with the American Red Cross to bring in beds as the threat remained late into the night.

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., was at the Peoria Manual High School evacuation site and shared social media updates addressing the public safety threat and urging residents within the radius to evacuate late into the night.

“I don't want to give you that many details right now because everything is changing. What we do need to make sure is that everybody's making good decisions. If you're within the 1-mile radius of the chemical plant BioUrja in Peoria, you have to evacuate,” Sorensen said.