Yesterday TPM identified Francis Grady as the suspect held in connection to the firebombing incident at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grand Chute, Wisconsin. This morning, I spoke with William Roach the Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin regarding the Francis Grady case.He confirms that Mr. Grady WILL be charged today in Federal Court in Green Bay, at 1:30p.m. on an Arson charge and a charge of Violating the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances, or "FACE Act. The Criminal Complaint will be available at that time. Mr. Roach told me that there wasn't any real debate about charging him with terrorism and that these were the appropriate statutes to charge him under. After doing a little reasearch on the FACE Act, I tend to agree with him. The FACE Act was drafted specifically to address cases like this one.
For those of you new to the story, Mr.Grady has an extensive criminal record as revealed by the Wisconsin Simple Case Search website. http://wcca.wicourts.gov/...
Mr. Grady has NOT signed the RECALL Walker petition according to the searchable database.
I'll try and update this story if anything new develops today.
Here's the specific statute that he will be charged under...
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 248
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act
This statute prohibits (1) the use of force or threat of force or physical obstruction, to intentionally injure, intimidate or interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person or any class of persons from obtaining or providing reproductive health services; (2) the use of force or threat of force or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, or interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate, or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship; or (3) intentionally damages or destroys the property of a facility, or attempts to do so, because such facility provides reproductive health services or intentionally damages or destroys the property of a place of religious worship. This statute does not apply to speech or expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. Non obstructive demonstrations are legal.
Punishment varies from a fine or imprisonment for an offense involving exclusively a nonviolent physical obstruction, the fine shall be not more than $10,000 and the length of imprisonment shall be up to six months, or both, for the first offense: and the fine shall, notwithstanding section 3571, be up to $25,000 and the length of imprisonment shall be not more than 18 months, or both, for a subsequent offense; and if bodily injury results, the length of imprisonment shall be up to ten years, and if death results, it shall be for any term of years or for life.