Man charged with planting 20 explosives near Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial
Prosecutors in Kansas City filed 20 charges Wednesday against a man accused of planting 20 explosives in a trashcan near the National WWI Museum and Memorial last week.
Owen Canizales Argueta, 22, faces 20 counts of possession of an illegal explosive, Jazzlyn Johnson, director of communications for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a press release Wednesday.
On Feb. 24, members with the Kansas City Police Department’s bomb and arson squad responded to 2 Memorial Drive, near the National WWI Museum and Memorial, after custodial staff discovered what they believed to be explosives in a trash can, according to a probable cause statement in support of Canizales Argueta’s arrest.
Custodial staff were cleaning out trash cans in the area when an employee found a red plastic bag, located on the west side of the Liberty Memorial, near a sidewalk and parking spots, the statement said.
Investigators located 20 homemade explosives in the bag, according to the court document. The bag was covered in a gray powder, similar to flash powder.
Detectives later tested the devices, concluding that they “would have functioned as designed, potentially causing property damage and physical injury to any life around them at the time of detonation,” the statement said.
Surveillance footage from the area showed a black Honda Civic with heavy rear end damage parked in the memorial’s driveway around 10:30 a.m., the statement said. At approximately 11:14, the vehicle drove to the west side of the driveway, where an individual wearing dark clothing exited.
The individual grabbed the red bag from the front passenger seat of the Honda and placed it in the trashcan the explosives were found in, the statement alleged.
Traffic cameras captured the Honda’s license plate, which revealed the car was registered to Canizales Argueta, according to the court document.
Following the incident, traffic cameras showed Canizales Argueta’s car enter a McDonald’s parking lot, where an individual was seen making a payment at the window. Investigators identified Canizales Argueta through the video footage, which they compared to a Department of Revenue photo of the man.
In an interview with investigators Tuesday, Canizales Argueta allegedly admitted to placing the devices in the trashcan, telling investigators he purchased the devices in 2025, the statement said.
He reportedly told investigators he didn’t know the devices were illegal.
With the upcoming 2026 World Cup, Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said that Jackson County “does not tolerate threats.”
“We’re prepared and committed to holding anyone who seeks to harm this community accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Johnson said. “We’re working closely with local law enforcement, elected officials, federal partners, and KC2026, to ensure that when the world arrives to our community, we are prepared and safe.”
Canizales Argueta is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 5:29 AM.
