Erik Rudolph Arnebold Had 24 Pipe Bombs In His Home

A North Carolina man arrested after investigators learned of two dozen pipe bombs in his home said he only wanted to defend himself against the apocalypse.

Erik Rudolph Arnebold, 37, told Star News Online in a jailhouse interview Thursday that he made the bombs two or three years ago when "there was talk about disarming Americans."

Investigators in the case, speaking to WWAY3, referred to the pipe bombs as "weapons of mass destruction" and said that 23 of the 24 explosives were hidden down in a trap door under his house.

Arnebold's home also had boarded up windows and doors, along with a handgun, rifle, and an "extensive" collection of ammunition, according to NBC News.

"It's not like I was ever intending on using them unless they were ever needed,” Arnebold said. “That's what the Second Amendment is about, the right to bear arms if they're ever needed. That's where I feel that this has all gone hay-wire. I mean they were dry walled into my house."

Arnebold told multiple news stations that he was coaxed out of his home by construction workers who turned out to be police. Wilmington police were initially looking into his alleged use of methamphetamine when they learned of the explosives.

“I said it's B.S., it’s planted,” the suspect said of the drug charge.

The bombs were 2 to 3 inches long and resembled M-80 firecrackers, Arnebold said. He added that the bombs were not very powerful and could have "maybe blown a garden hose up."

"I'm your everyday citizen and now they're throwing the book at me," he said.

Though his bond was originally set at $625,000 at the time of his arrest, the fee was increased to $1.5 million on Thursday. He has been slapped with 24 weapon of mass destruction counts, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia, all charges he says are being blown out of proportion.

"If I would have had to use them it would have been for survival,” Arnebold said. “My curiosity got to me years ago when they were talking about that kind of stuff. This is what you get when you fear your government. Don't put down your arms, keep them up.”