The Department of Justice has arrested and charged a Wisconsin man they believe was behind a firebombing that targeted a pro-life organization in Madison, Wisconsin in May of 2022.
“According to the complaint, Mr. Roychowdhury used an incendiary device in violation of federal law in connection with his efforts to terrorize and intimidate a private organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The May 8, 2022 attack targeted the office space of Wisconsin Family Action, a group that opposes abortion. Outside the building, someone spray-painted on a wall, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”
According to the DOJ, law enforcement officers responded to the active fire at the office. Once inside the building, officers observed a mason jar under a broken window. The jar was broken, and the lid and screw top were burned. The police also found a purple disposable lighter near the mason jar, which was about half full of a clear liquid they said smelled like an accelerant.
Suspect Identified Through DNA Evidence, Handwriting Samples
Federal prosecutors said they identified Roychowdhury as the firebombing suspect through DNA evidence. The charging documents state that investigators found DNA profiles from three different individuals during their investigation of the attack.During the protest near the Wisconsin capitol, investigators observed a protester spray painting “We will get revenge” in a cursive style similar to the one seen outside the Wisconsin Family Action office space. Further reviews of security footage throughout the protest event led law enforcement officials to eventually identify Roychowdhury as one of the people in attendance.
As law enforcement officers observed Roychowdhury in the ensuing days, they saw him discard a bag of trash after a fast food meal. The officers took DNA samples from a partially eaten piece of food left in the bag, and the DNA results matched with one of the samples collected from the scene of the firebombing at the Wisconsin Family Action office space.
Roychowdhury had left Madison, Wisconsin for Portland, Maine earlier this month. He had then purchased a flight ticket from Boston to Guatemala City. Law enforcement authorities arrested Roychowdhury at Boston Logan International Airport on Tuesday.
If convicted, Roychowdhury faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Few Prosecutions Against Pro-Life Attacks
Roychowdhury’s arrest comes as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has faced questions over the efforts the DOJ has made to investigate and prosecute crimes targeting pro-life organizations.“How do you explain this disparity, by reference to anything other than politicization of what is happening here?” Lee asked Garland.
Garland responded that individuals who have blocked access to or vandalized abortion clinics have generally done so during the daytime. By comparison, he said, “those who are attacking the pregnancy resource centers, which is a horrid thing to do, are doing this at night, in the dark.”
Garland then claimed that the DOJ is putting its full resources toward investigating attacks on pro-life organizations.
