NEW YORK — An ex-con has been indicted on federal charges for building at least seven bombs that he placed on the rooftops of several SoHo buildings and on subway tracks spanning the Williamsburg Bridge — all while boasting on social media he was going to “go out to play like no tomorrow,” officials said Wednesday.

Michael Gann, 55, ordered the chemicals for the explosives, created the bombs with tubing and shotgun shells, and then stored five of the seven bombs on the roofs of apartment buildings in the swanky Manhattan neighborhood before he was arrested June 5 with an improvised explosive device in his backpack, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District said.

Gann is also accused of dropping an explosive onto the train tracks to the Williamsburg Bridge before he was apprehended.

Authorities had been tipped off by someone Gann shared his plans to make the bombs, officials said. He’s been in federal custody since his arrest on charges of unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device as investigators continued to build the case against him.

After his arrest, the feds learned that he posted a bizarre cryptic message on Instagram reading “Who wants to go out to play like no tomorrow?”

Back in March, he posted another strange message on X tagging President Donald Trump which read, “I’m thinking just now here in NYC that it’s too bad that the wall wasn’t built before the National Guard would have to come here for the Protests and Riotation or would you drop a bomb on this place while and because they seem to be coming and going?” according to a federal indictment filed against him this week.

Gann is now facing several new federal charges, including transportation of explosive materials and attempted destruction of property by means of explosives. If convicted, he could face more than 20 years in prison.

His actions put “countless lives at risk,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Tuesday upon announcing Gann’s indictment. “Thanks to swift work by our law enforcement partners, no one was harmed. That vigilance assuredly prevented a tragedy in New York.”

Federal prosecutors say Gann used AI to create his explosives and did multiple Google searches about purchasing firearms, how to make a gun with a 3D printer as well as searches with the keywords “clorine bomb,” “how to make flash powder from household items,” and “pyro supplies.”

In May, he ultimately placed an order for two pounds of potassium perchlorate, 200 cardboard tubes and over 50 feet of fuses. He had also ordered aluminum powder which, when mixed with potassium perchlorate could “create an explosive mixture” once ignited, federal officials said.

He put 30 grams of the explosive mixture into each bomb “which is approximately 600 times the legal limit for consumer fireworks,” according to the federal indictment against Gann.

When he was arrested in June 5, Gann claimed got cold feet and tossed the bombs into the East River. The bomb that landed on the tracks was meant to be dropped in the river as well, he said, but his throw fell short, according to a law enforcement official.

The official described Gann as emotionally disturbed. Court documents, however, described Gann a day before his arrest mixing explosives in the presence of a military veteran, one of two witnesses in the case.

“What kind of veteran are you?” Gann is quoted as saying. “You see a problem in the neighborhood and you do nothing about it?”

Gann then pointed to a nearby Jewish school, the documents say.

Law enforcement officials say that Gann repeatedly “said hateful things about Jews and other protected groups” although no plans to bomb Jewish institutions or harm Jews have been uncovered.

When arrested, Gann was carrying a shoulder bag he said he was going to drop off with the FDNY, according to court papers. He also urged the agents not to light a match near the bag “because there could be a big fireball.”

Inside his bag was a homemade explosive device, binoculars, a pocketknife and a torch lighter.

Gann had twice previously tested the chemicals, the documents said, each time creating a small explosion, the second one blinding the veteran for about 20 seconds.

Shortly before his arrest, Gann called the supplier he bought the chemicals from and asked if he could return them, according to court documents. The supplier denied the request and suggested Gann put them in water or throw them away.

Gann has about 30 prior arrests and three felony convictions, court papers say. His attorney, Martin Cohen, declined to comment about the charges when reached Wednesday.

_____

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.