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Bitten donkey, traces of DNA and written threats lead to arrest of author of attack on anti-abortion office

2023-03-29T00:54:54.728Z


Hridindu Sankar was arrested and charged with firebombing a Wisconsin Family Action facility in May 2022, when news broke that the Supreme Court was seeking to strike down abortion rights at the federal level.


By Ryan J. Reilly –

NBC News

Federal authorities managed to arrest a man Tuesday who they say firebombed the office of an anti-abortion group, after

investigators were able to extract DNA samples from a bitten burrito

that allowed them to connect the individual to the device used. in the attack.

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury was arrested in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday and charged with the attack on the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison, Wisconsin on May 8, 2022.

[Why Latinas Are Hardest Hit by Recent US Abortion Ban: Study Provides More Details]

"If abortions are not guaranteed, neither are you," someone wrote on the walls of the building during the attack, which took place days after the Político news portal had the exclusive that the Supreme Court had the votes to overturn the Roe ruling. v.

Wade, who made abortion a constitutional right in the United States.

The Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison, Wisconsin after the attack. FBI

Authorities were able to collect DNA from the glass incendiary vial found inside the attacked office

, as well as from shards of window glass and a cigarette lighter found at the scene, according to an affidavit written by a Dane County deputy. , who belongs to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

[What You Should Know About Abortion Rights Following the Supreme Court Ruling Overturning Roe v.

Wade]

A review of the national DNA database yielded no results.

However, a Wisconsin State Capitol police officer, who was monitoring a protest on January 21, 2023, saw several individuals spray paint "in a cursive style of writing" that had "visual similarities" to the graffiti found. at the Wisconsin Family Action office, the affidavit said.

"If abortions aren't safe, neither are you": the spray-painted sign at the office of the anti-abortion group in Madison, Wisconsin.

fbi

Using surveillance video, authorities were able to identify a white van that was seen pulling out of a parking lot near where the protesters were painting.

The vehicle belonged to an individual who lived at the same address as Roychowdhury.

A half eaten burrito

In early March, authorities saw Roychowdhury dump a bag of fast food into a trash can in a parking lot.

Authorities recovered the bag, which contained "a quarter of a partially eaten burrito on waxed paper, a soiled napkin, a crumpled paper wrapper, and four unopened sachets of hot sauce," according to the document.

The evidence was sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) laboratory for DNA testing.

The results came back on March 17: DNA found at the Wisconsin Family Action group office

matched the DNA found on the burrito.

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March 22, 202301:33

Roychowdhury was arrested Tuesday at Boston's Logan International Airport.

According to the authorities, he had bought a one-way ticket to Guatemala City.

He was scheduled for a detention hearing Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Boston.

Court records indicated that the government requested his arrest.

Another hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

During a recent Senate hearing, Attorney General Merrick Garland was repeatedly questioned by Republican senators about why there were no indictments in the recent attacks on anti-abortion facilities.

[Changing abortion access laws in various states are causing confusion for patients and clinics]

Garland responded that the attacks took place at night and that the Justice Department was still looking for the attackers.

In January, two individuals were indicted for writing spray paint threats on buildings in Florida run by anti-abortion organizations, including an Archdiocese of Miami Office of Respect Life facility in Hollywood, Florida.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-03-29

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