Current:Home > StocksFlorida attorney pleads guilty to bomb attempt outside Chinese embassy-LoTradeCoin
Florida attorney pleads guilty to bomb attempt outside Chinese embassy
View Date:2024-12-23 11:11:45
A Florida attorney pleaded guilty to attempting to set off a backpack of explosives outside the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C.
Investigators say they found the lawyer's DNA on the bag of explosives.
Christopher Rodriguez, a licensed criminal defense lawyer in Panama City, Florida, placed a backpack filled with explosive material a few feet away from the embassy in September, then tried to detonate it by shooting it with a rifle, according to court filings. But Rodriguez missed his target and the explosives failed to detonate.
He also admitted to damaging a sculpture in Texas that depicted communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, a piece the artists say was actually intended as a satirical critique of communism.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to damaging property occupied by a foreign government, malicious damage to federal property using explosive materials, and receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm. A plea agreement said both parties agreed that imprisonment for seven to ten years followed by three years of supervised released is an “appropriate sentence.”
Court papers detail late night bombing attempt near Chinese embassy
According to an affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Rodriguez, 45, drove in September from his Panama City, Florida, home to northern Virginia with a rifle and 15 pounds of explosive material. He stopped on the way to buy a backpack, nitrile gloves and a burner cell phone.
On Sept. 24, Rodriguez parked his car in Arlington, Virginia, and used the phone to call a taxi to get near the Chinese embassy, which is about four miles northwest of the White House. Sometime after midnight, Rodriguez placed the bag of explosives outside the embassy and fired gunshots toward it, prosecutors said.
At about 2:45 a.m., Secret Service agents found three shell casings, bullet fragments and the backpack near the outer perimeter wall of the Chinese embassy, as well as impact marks on the wall, according to the affidavit.
DNA found on the backpack was consistent with DNA obtained from Rodriguez in a June 2021 arrest in Los Angeles County, prosecutors said, when California Highway Patrol officers found his car didn't match the license plate. Officers spotted weapons in his console after pulling him over, and he was subsequently charged with possession of a loaded/concealed firearm in a vehicle, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of a switchblade knife, according to the affidavit. Police also found several jars of the same type of explosive material that was later used in the bombing attempt outside of the embassy.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Rodriguez on Nov. 4 in Lafayette, Louisiana, and he has been detained since then, according to prosecutors.
Attorneys for Rodriguez listed in court records did not return USA TODAY’s requests for comment.
Attorney admits to destroying sculpture in Texas
Less than one year before the embassy assault, Rodriguez had targeted an art sculpture in San Antonio, Texas, court filings said. The piece, called "Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head," was made in 2009 by Beijing artists Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang – together known as the Gao Brothers – and inspired by their family's tumultuous experience in China, the San Antonio Report said.
Rodriguez rented a vehicle in Pensacola, Florida, and drove to San Antonio, Texas, in November 2022, according to a statement of offense. He scaled a fence to get to the courtyard where the piece was sitting and placed two canisters of explosive mixture, before climbing onto a rooftop and shooting at them with a rifle, causing "significant damage" to the artwork, court papers said.
Texas Public Radio headquarters is near the courtyard and captured the assault on its security cameras. The footage, which TPR posted on social media, showed a man in a ski mask placing the cans and walk away before a fiery explosion ensued.
The sculpture depicted a tiny figure of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, holding a pole atop a giant head of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union.
veryGood! (65986)
Related
- Full House's John Stamos Shares Message to Costar Dave Coulier Amid Cancer Battle
- Boston Marathon lowers qualifying times for most prospective runners for 2026 race
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ faces federal charges in New York, his lawyer says
- Tennessee increases 2025 football ticket prices to help pay players
- Up to 20 human skulls found in man's discarded bags, home in New Mexico
- Detroit Red Wings sign Lucas Raymond to 8-year contract worth more than $8M per year
- Major companies abandon an LGBTQ+ rights report card after facing anti-diversity backlash
- San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel to miss a couple weeks with calf injury
- Democrat Cleo Fields wins re-drawn Louisiana congressional district, flipping red seat blue
- Major companies abandon an LGBTQ+ rights report card after facing anti-diversity backlash
Ranking
- Mike Tyson emerges as heavyweight champ among product pitchmen before Jake Paul fight
- Why Josh Gad Regrets Using His Voice for Frozen's Olaf
- Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is erupting again in a remote part of a national park
- Édgar Barrera, Bad Bunny and Karol G lead the 2024 Latin Grammy nominations
- Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
- Tough treatment and good memories mix at newest national site dedicated to Latinos
- America’s Got Talent Alum Emily Gold’s Family Shares Moving Tribute After Her Death
- Gilmore Girls Star Kelly Bishop Reveals Which Love Interests She'd Pick for Lorelai and Rory
Recommendation
-
'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
-
Brush fire leads to evacuations in a north-central Arizona town
-
Vance and Georgia Gov. Kemp project Republican unity at evangelical event after Trump tensions
-
Mother of Colorado supermarket gunman says he is ‘sick’ and denies knowing about plan
-
Artem Chigvintsev Returns to Dancing With the Stars Ballroom Amid Nikki Garcia Divorce
-
Saquon Barkley takes blame for critical drop that opened door in Eagles' stunning collapse
-
What is the best used SUV to buy? Consult this list of models under $10,000
-
Target Circle Week is coming in October: Get a preview of holiday shopping deals, discounts