Watch CBS News

Man Responsible For 'Toilet Bomb' Scare Speaks To WJZ

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It was a bizarre bomb scare involving a toilet.  Now the man responsible claims he never broke the law.

Adam May has a revealing interview shot inside a state mental hospital.

Duane Davis claims he's been wrongfully committed to a mental hospital.  In February, he triggered a bomb scare after placing a decorated toilet outside the Baltimore County Courthouse.  He was arrested on charges of making a phony destructive device and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.  He's been at Spring Grove ever since.

"Jesus had a cross, Martin Luther King had a dream, Malcolm had a gun and Shorty had a toilet... 'cause we all have [expletive] to deal with," Davis said.  "The toilets represent how America treats the underclass and the voiceless.  You treat us like [expletive].  No matter what color you are, how much money you got, how poor you are, everyone uses a toilet.  Picasso used soup cans; I use a toilet."

Davis says he's not mentally ill.

"They want to claim I'm crazy, deranged or delusional," he said.  "I'm not diagnosed as bipolar, schizophrenic or nothing."

State officials would not allow WJZ to speak with Davis' doctor so we have no independent evaluation of his mental health.

"These people in this facility have talked to me, talked to me, talked to me and I've taken test after test and I haven't failed a test yet.  I know what day it is, who the president is and I know what I did wasn't against the law.  It's my constitutional right, freedom of speech," Davis said.

Davis admits he has sent a flood of letters to elected officials, including Governor Martin O'Malley, expressing his concerns about social justice.

"Never threatened anybody with anything," Davis said.  "The only thing that's going to hurt the governor is the truth.  I'm just telling my story."

Davis has produced dozens of documentaries that can be difficult to understand.  He says they're meant to expose racial and social inequalities.  Other videos feature nine other toilets he placed around Baltimore City over the last few years.

"I knew they were going to do something to me because I was naming public officials that use their power to deny the underclass their rights," Davis said.  "I'd put the toilets out all over again, yes I would, because it's my right."

Davis has his first court hearing coming up in April.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.