BURRITO BUST: How partially-eaten meal led to capture of pro-choice firebomber at Boston airport
MADISON, WISCONSIN: A Wisconsin man who had firebombed an anti-abortion group a year earlier was detained at a Boston airport with a one-way ticket to Guatemala. The US Attorney's Office in Madison arrested Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, on Tuesday after DNA from a partially consumed burrito linked him to the crime.
He was taken into custody at Boston Logan International Airport. He was accused of trying to damage property using an explosive or fire on one count. On Tuesday, he made his first appearance in a federal court in Boston, as reported by News8000.
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He could spend up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, with a required minimum of five years. Since May 6, 2022, when he threw two Molotov cocktails at the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison, federal authorities had been looking for him for almost a year. One of the firebombs was unsuccessful in starting a fire, while the other blew up a bookcase, as per reports.
'If abortions aren't safe, you aren't either'
The building's facade was painted with the threatening slogan "If abortions aren't safe, you aren't either." Police guarding the state Capitol in Madison last January watched CCTV footage of a demonstration against police violence. The video showed multiple persons spray-painting graffiti that matched the writing at the Wisconsin Family Action office on the grounds of the Capitol.
According to the complaint, the surveillance video showed two people leaving the area in a white pickup truck, which detectives were able to locate at Roychowdhury's home in Madison. The police then started to pursue him.
Investigators observed the suspect enter a Madison park-and-ride on March 1 and discard a bag of fast food. Police recovered the bag's contents, including a partially consumed burrito wrapped in waxed paper, from the garbage after the man had left, as per reports.
According to the complaint, DNA retrieved from the Wisconsin Family Action office was compared to DNA found on the tortilla seventeen days later. The criminal complaint against Roychowdury claims that three DNA samples were taken from the scene of the Wisconsin attack from the evidence. Nevertheless, none of the profiles in the DNA database of the US Department of Justice matched the samples, as reported by DailyMail.
The cocktail jar, the lighter inside, and the fabric were all found to have the initial DNA sample, known as Male 1. But, because it was not included in the national database, federal and local officials had to spend months looking for Roychowdury. According to the lawsuit, investigators could not connect the two DNA profiles to a specific person.
According to a statement from the US Attorney's Office, Roychowdhury made a trip from Madison to Portland, Maine, this month. When he was detained, he had a one-way ticket for a trip from Boston to Guatemala City, which was set to take off Tuesday morning, according to the office. A draught opinion indicating that the Supreme Court would reverse Roe v Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion, was leaked roughly a week before the attack, as per reports.
Supporters of abortion rights staged nationwide demonstrations in response to the revelation. The days before the Madison firebombing saw vandalism at two Catholic churches in Colorado. A few days later, someone attacked the office of an anti-abortion group in a Salem, Oregon, suburb with Molotov cocktails.
'All Police Are Bastards'
On Mother's Day morning, when a bystander called the police to report spotting smoke coming from the anti-abortion group's headquarters, the damage was found. The letters 1312, which stand for the phrase "All Police Are Bastards," and the Antifa emblem, which is a capital "A" enclosed in a circle, were also painted on the wall.
The Wisconsin State Journal was informed at the time by Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, that a glass had been broken, books had been burned, and there had been graffiti on the walls. Afterward, Appling announced a $5,000 prize for any information that resulted in an arrest. She charged that Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes and Democratic Governor Tony Evers were more concerned with showing sympathy for pro-abortion demonstrators than with apprehending any criminals. On Tuesday, Appling remained silent in regard to Roychowdhury's arrest, as reported by KTAR.