An abortion rights activist was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for firebombing an anti-abortion building in Madison, Wisconsin, in May 2022.
Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, pleaded guilty in December to throwing two Molotov cocktails through the windows of Wisconsin Family Action on May 8, 2022. The attack happened shortly after the leak of the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which concluded that the Constitution does not provide a right to abortion, and appeared to be an act of retaliation for the decision. He was sentenced to federal prison last week for his actions.
Court documents revealed that one of Roychowdhury’s firebombs set a bookcase on fire, according to the Department of Justice. Police officers arrived on the scene to an active fire in the office. Later, police officers noticed other devices used to cause destruction as well as graffiti on one of the walls that read, “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.” Additional graffiti included the number “1312” and a large “A” with a circle around it.
Charges against Roychowdhury resulted from a joint investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin State Capitol Police Department, and the Madison Police Department, among others, the Department of Justice said.
Roychowdhury’s sentencing was announced on April 10 through a press release by the Department of Justice. Several officials commented on the case and the sentencing.
“The sentence imposed today is the result of innovative work by the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors who tirelessly investigated this case,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “It is also a reminder that the Justice Department will hold accountable those who turn to violence as a means of intimidation.”
“The FBI will not stand for the use of violence or criminal activity to express personal views on any matter,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “Today’s sentencing is the result of the FBI’s commitment to use all of our resources to aggressively pursue anyone who uses violent tactics in an attempt to impose their views on others.”
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“Engaging in an act of terror – in this case, firebombing a business because of their beliefs – is criminal and unamerican. As today’s sentencing demonstrates, it won’t be tolerated,” said Director Stephen Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Tobacco and Firearms. “I commend the collaborative efforts by all the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, and I commend the expertise of ATF’s forensic laboratory, and the assistance from the ATF Boston Field Division, for their dedication. In this case, the DNA testing led to the swift arrest of this defendant and made the community safer.”
“Roychowdhury’s arson was an act of domestic terrorism,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin. “Domestic terrorism is cowardly and profoundly undemocratic. It is not speech; it is not an exchange of ideas; instead, it is an attempt to harm or frighten one’s fellow citizens, thus driving Americans apart and weakening the fabric of our democratic society. The U.S. Department of Justice, and this U.S. Attorney’s Office, with our local and federal law enforcement partners will never flinch from holding domestic terrorists accountable.”
