After nearly a year of searching, investigators used DNA pulled from a half-eaten burrito to capture the man they believe firebombed a Wisconsin anti-abortion lobbying group’s office.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Madison announced that police arrested 29-year-old Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Tuesday.
He was charged via the complaint with one count of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive.
He made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Tuesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell set a detention hearing for Thursday.
Roychowdhury’s attorney, Brendan O. Kelley, who is listed in online court records as a federal public defender, declined comment when reached by phone after Tuesday’s hearing.
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Federal agents have been searching for almost a year for whoever tossed a pair of Molotov cocktails into the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison on May 6.
One of the firebombs failed to ignite; the other set a bookcase on fire. The message “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” was spray-painted on the building’s exterior. No one was in the office at the time.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, “Vandals set a fire inside the Madison headquarters of the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action early Sunday, police and an official with the group said Sunday. Investigators are calling the fire at the building, on Madison’s North Side near the Dane County Regional Airport, an arson.”
No one was injured.
The paper reported that authorities discovered an un-ignited Molotov cocktail inside the building, one of two that apparently were tossed inside the headquarters of the pro-life group. The terrorists broke in and started the fire when one didn’t go off. They also burned books.
According to the Journal, the exterior of the building was spray-painted with an “anarchy symbol” and a coded anti-police slogan. Photos of the graffiti showed an encircled A, which Antifa also uses, and the number 1312, which is shorthand for the leftist slogan “All Cops Are Bastards.”
Related: Anti-Abortion Leader Criticizes The Left’s “One-Way” Tolerance After Firebombing On Mothers Day
The terrorists also left the phrase, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”
Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said the attack presented a “direct threat” against the pro-life group.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes seemed to agree. “It appears a specific non-profit that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted,” Barnes said.
The investigation was continuing. Barnes is expected to provide an update on Monday afternoon.
Republicans condemned the attack. For instance, GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said, “This attack is abhorrent and should be condemned by all.”
Unlike the attempts to badger the Supreme Court in the Washington area, at least some liberals in Wisconsin offered platitudes to denounce the attack on Wisconsin Family Action.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tweeted, “We condemn violence and hatred in all forms, including the actions at Wisconsin Family Action in Madison last night.”
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“We reject violence against any person for disagreeing with another’s view … We will work against overturning Roe and attacks on reproductive rights by leading with empathy and compassion. We will defend what we believe in with our words and our voices — in the streets, in halls of government, and at the ballot box. In Wisconsin, we must lead by example.”
State Attorney General Josh Kaul, also a Democrat, called the crime “disgraceful and unacceptable” on Twitter. “This incident must be fully investigated, and whoever is responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Appling, however, was not overly convinced.
In a statement posted on Wisconsin Family Action’s website, she added, “Apparently, the tolerance that the left demands is truly a one-way street. Violence has become their answer to everything. This is what happens when leadership is missing or when leadership implies that violence is ok.”
On that point, she faulted Evers for a lame response to the riots in 2020 in Kenosha and Madison. “That kind of non-response fosters what happened to us this morning, leaving Wisconsin citizens who disagree with his policies extremely vulnerable to similar violence,” Appling said.
“In fact, Governor Evers’s response to today’s incident said nothing about demanding a full investigation and criminal prosecution. He just told his supporters he’d keep supporting abortion.”
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“But this attack fails to frighten us, and instead steels the resolve of law-abiding, common-sense, every-day folks to stand up and push back. We know today it is Wisconsin Family Action getting Molotov cocktails tossed through broken windows and fires ignited, but tomorrow it could be anyone in our state or another state who is attacked because we disagree with a policy or action, give voice to the voiceless, or stand up for what’s right,” Appling added.
“Americans see through the hypocrisy of the left. The violence needs to stop and stop now. It’s not the answer to any question or any problem. Just because the liberals don’t get their way, doesn’t give them license to threaten bodily harm or to burn and destroy,” she concluded.
“Wisconsin has had enough of this kind of terror condoned by current state and national leaders. But we are still standing. We still support freedom. We love our republic and care for our neighbors. We will repair our offices, remain on the job, and build an even stronger grassroots effort. We will not back down. We will not stop doing what we are doing. Too much is at stake.”
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