Man sentenced to 7-plus years for firebombing a Madison anti-abortion office group in 2022 on eve of Roe v. Wade decision

MADISON — The man indicted in the May 2022 firebombing of a prominent anti-abortion group's office in Madison was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in federal prison.

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury will also serve three years on supervised release and pay a $32,000 fine under the sentence issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge William Conley. He faced a minimum of five years in prison, and could have receieved a maximum of 20 years along with financial penalties of up to $250,000.

Roychowdhury, 30, was arrested in March 2023 and indicted by a grand jury the following month. He was charged with one count of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive. He initially pleaded not guilty, then in June 2023 sought to have the case dismissed arguing the federal arson statute under which he was charged is unconstitutional. That motion was denied, and in November 2023 he agreed to plead guilty.

Federal prosecutors accused Roychowdhury of efforts to "terrorize" and "intimidate" by vandalizing and setting a fire in the Madison offices of Wisconsin Family Action in spring of 2022. Madison Fire and Police departments responded early in the morning on May 8, 2022, to a 911 call reporting flames coming from the organization’s office on Madison’s north side.

According to the plea agreement, Roychowdhury and "at least one" other person traveled to the organization's office and "maliciously damaged" it by means of fire.

The incident occurred days after a leaked draft indicated that the U.S. Supreme Court was about to overturn Roe v. Wade, its 1973 landmark decision legalizing abortion.

“If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” was painted in cursive on the building’s outside wall, along with the “anarchy” symbol and an anti-police slogan.

An investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the fire was started using a device "consistent with the appearance and components of a Molotov cocktail," according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators used DNA evidence, surveillance and social media to track down Roychowdhury nearly a year after the incident took place. Key elements in the investigation included an apparent handwriting match in another graffiti incident and DNA obtained from a half-eaten burrito discarded in a garbage can.

Wisconsin Family Action president emeritus Julaine Appling, whose office was damaged in the incident, said the firebombing was "a very visual reminder that people who disagree with us can and will use violence to try to silence us."

"We recommended the defendant receive 15 years imprisonment. We based that on justice — on the punishment fitting the crime, not on retribution or vengeance. This was a serious, premeditated crime that was the first of nearly 100 attacks on pro-life organizations across the country," Appling said in a statement. "In light of this, we are disappointed in the judge’s decision regarding a crime the judge called ‘terrorism’ multiple times. The U.S. Attorney’s office had also recommended 12-15 years imprisonment. A civil society does not exist if violence is the default reaction to disagreeing with people."

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Man sentenced to 7 years for firebombing Madison anti-abortion office