Ex-UW PhD Candidate Gets 7½ Years For Firebombing Anti-Abortion Office

MADISON, WI — A Madison man was sentenced Wednesday to 7½ years in prison after pleading guilty to the May 2022 firebombing of an office belonging to Wisconsin Family Action, an anti-abortion group.

Hridindu Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, was also ordered to serve three years on supervised release and pay nearly $32,000 in restitution. The sentence came after he pleaded guilty in December to attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive.

Roychowdhury was a Ph.D. candidate studying computational genomics, statistics, and biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time of the attack, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Roychowdhury faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for Feb. 14.

"I am deeply grateful to our local and federal law enforcement partners for their dedication and persistence in solving this crime," said U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin last year, following the guilty plea.

"In our shared American experiment, conflicting views must be resolved through discussion, the courts, and the ballot box. Arson and other acts of domestic terrorism are crimes that will be punished and have no place in a healthy democracy."

On May 8, 2022, just after 6 a.m., law enforcement responded to an active fire at an office building in Madison.

Outside of the building, someone spray-painted on one wall, "If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either" and, on another wall, a large "A" with a circle around it and the number "1312."

Once inside the building, police found the apparent remnants of Molotov cocktails.

Law enforcement collected DNA from the scene of the attack, and nearly a year later in March 2023, identified Roychowdhury as a possible suspect.

Police say they watched Roychowdhury dispose of food in a public trash can, recovered the leftover food, and collected DNA from it.

The DNA evidence recovered from the attack scene matched the samples from the food, authorities said.

In March 2023, Roychowdhury traveled from Madison to Portland, Maine, police said. He then purchased a one-way ticket from Boston, Massachusetts to Guatemala City, departing on March 28, according to authorities.

Law enforcement arrested Roychowdhury at Boston Logan International Airport that day.

"There is no place in our society for flagrant disregard for safety through firebombing a place of business, and today’s change of plea is one step further to closure for the victims," said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Engelbert, of the St. Paul Field Division.

"This was a complicated investigation. I am proud of the work our agents put into this and am appreciative of the tremendous team effort that went into this investigation."

"The firebombing was an unacceptable attack on the safety and constitutionally protected rights of every citizen in the state of Wisconsin," said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Hensle of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office.

"I commend the thorough and exhaustive investigative efforts of the FBI with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners whose efforts led to the identification and subsequent guilty plea. Let this be a warning to anyone who seeks to use intimidation through threats or committing acts of violence, the FBI along with our partners will work together to ensure that those who break the law are held accountable."