Man Arrested In Firebombing At Madison Anti-Abortion Group Office

WISCONSIN — A Madison man was arrested in Massachusetts on Tuesday and is now facing a federal charge in connection with the 2022 firebombing attack at a Wisconsin anti-abortion rights group office, according to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, is now facing a charge of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive in connection with the fire, according to a federal criminal complaint. Authorities said he was arrested in Boston Tuesday after he had purchased a one-way ticket to Guatemala City.

The fire, which investigators quickly called intentional, happened May 8 at the Wisconsin Family Action building on International Lane in Madison, police said at the time. The attack came less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion was leaked in the Dobbs vs. Jackson case. The court later went on with the leaked decision and reversed the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, upending abortion rights in Wisconsin and across the country.

Related: Wisconsin Anti-Abortion Rights Group Target Of Arson: Police

At the scene of the fire, police found a broken mason jar under a broken window with the top burned black near a disposable lighter plus an unbroken mason jar nearby half-full of some sort of fuel, according to the complaint. The half-full jar had a singed piece of fabric attached, the complaint said.

Besides the fire damage to the building, graffiti was found nearby that read "If abortions aren't safe, then you aren't either."

“According to the complaint, Mr. Roychowdhury used an incendiary device in violation of federal law in connection with his efforts to terrorize and intimidate a private organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division in a news release.

Police tracked Roychowdhury down in part through DNA testing, according to the criminal complaint. Authorities said he wasn't a suspect until March 2023. Authorities also cross-referenced graffiti found at the Wisconsin State Capitol after a protest on Jan. 26, 2023, with the graffiti found after the May 2022 fire, according to the complaint. Surveillance footage from the protest showed somebody writing "We will get revenge" and police tracked the suspect through parts of the city to a pick-up truck linked to an associate of Roychowdhury, the complaint said.

Madison police later tracked down Roychowdhury and used trash from a fast-food order of his to match the DNA found at the scene, according to the complaint. Several pieces of evidence from the fire had DNA on them, the complaint said.

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“For months, our detectives remained committed to finding those responsible for this arson. When tips and leads were limited, they never gave up," said Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes in a release. "Their persistence is proof that hateful acts do not have a place in Madison. I applaud their work and want to thank our federal partners for all of their help leading up to this arrest.”

If he is convicted, Roychowdhury could face up to 20 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of five years.

Just days after the apparent attack, a group that called itself "Jane's Revenge" took credit for the arson, according to a series of tweets by Robert Evans, an investigative journalist for the website Bellingcat. Evans at the time said he received a statement from an anonymous intermediary through the group that he believed to be reliable, though, the criminal complaint filed this week did not mention the group.

Read the full criminal complaint against Roychowdhury below: