Wisconsin Man Pleads Guilty to Firebombing Anti-Abortion Groups Office

A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty Friday to firebombing the office of a prominent anti-abortion group last year.

A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty on Friday to firebombing the office of a prominent anti-abortion group in Madison last year. Hridindu Roychowdhury, 29, admitted to throwing two Molotov cocktails through the window of Wisconsin Family Actions Madison office on May 8, 2022, less than a week after the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Courts intention overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

The Incident

One of the Molotov cocktails thrown into the office failed to ignite; the other set a bookcase on fire. Roychowdhury also admitted to spray-painting the message "If abortions arent safe then you arent either” on the outside of the building. No one was in the office at the time.

The Investigation

Investigators connected Roychowdhury to the firebombing in January, when police assigned to the state Capitol in Madison reviewed surveillance footage of a protest against police brutality. The video showed several people spray-painting graffiti on Capitol grounds that resembled the message left on the Wisconsin Family Action office. The footage also showed two people leaving the area in a pickup truck investigators tracked to Roychowdhurys home in Madison.

Police began following Roychowdhury and in March pulled his DNA from a half-eaten burrito he threw away at a park-and-ride lot. That DNA sample matched one taken at the scene of the firebombing.

The Arrest

Police arrested Roychowdhury on March 28 at a Boston airport where he had booked a one-way ticket to Guatemala City, Guatemala, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Roychowdhury signed a plea deal with prosecutors last month agreeing to a federal charge of damaging property with explosives. U.S. District Judge William Conley approved the agreement in a hearing Friday.

The Sentence

Under the charge, Roychowdhury faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but prosecutors agreed to recommend that Judge Conley reduce the sentence because he has accepted responsibility for the crime. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for February.

Roychowdhury’s actions were a dangerous and criminal attempt to intimidate and silence those who disagree with his views on abortion. The guilty plea is a victory for the rule of law and sends a clear message that violence and intimidation will not be tolerated.