A Madison man pled guilty earlier this month to the firebombing the office of Wisconsin Family Action.
According to the US Department of Justice, 29-year-old Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury pleaded guilty to attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive.
BREAKING: Somebody vandalized and allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into Wisconsin Family Action’s — an anti-abortion rights group — Madison office, writing w/ graffiti, “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.”
— Alexander Shur (@AlexanderShur) May 8, 2022
Story TK pic.twitter.com/6Wfnyeh9hQ
On Sunday, May 8, 2022, at approximately 6:06 a.m., law enforcement responded to an active fire at an office building located in Madison. Once inside the building, police observed a mason jar under a broken window; the jar was broken, and the lid and screw top were burned black. The police also saw a purple disposable lighter near the mason jar. On the opposite wall from the window, the police saw another mason jar with the lid on and a blue cloth tucked into the top; the cloth was singed. The jar was about half full of a clear fluid that smelled like an accelerant. Outside of the building, someone spray painted on one wall, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” and, on another wall, a large “A” with a circle around it and the number “1312.” During the investigation, law enforcement collected DNA from the scene of the attack.
DNA found in a half-eaten burrito disposed of by the former Wisconsin University research assistant helped officials locate Roychowdhury.
In March, Roychowdhury travelled from Madison to Portland, Maine, and he purchased a one-way ticket from Boston to Guatemala City, departing March 28. Law enforcement arrested Roychowdhury at Boston Logan International Airport that day.
Roychowdhury faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Sentencing for Roychowdhury is scheduled for Feb. 14, 2024.
Roychowdhury had been seeking the dismissal of his case as recently as this past summer. There’s no word on what led him to fire-up a plea deal instead.
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