A guy who started a fire at an Illinois Planned Parenthood facility was given a 10-year prison term on Tuesday.
Tyler Massengill has acknowledged setting fire to the Peoria clinic in January, only a few days after Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill adding further legal safeguards for abortion procedures. Massengill used a homemade explosive to start the fire. The clinic was empty when the fire broke out.
“I feel bad for the workers who were laid off. I’m not attempting to act the victim in this situation. Massengill, 32, reportedly made reference to his idea that a former partner had an abortion a few years ago when he remarked in court, “I was truly hurt.
However, according to the prosecution, the woman informed the FBI that wasn’t the case.
According to U.S. District Judge James Shadid, the clinic’s substantial damage has forced individuals who regularly go there for a range of services to find elsewhere.
In addition, the judge noted, “there’s the striking of fear, stress, and inconvenience to thousands of patients as well as staff from the many other Planned Parenthood facilities that wonder if they are next on the list of misguided people like you.”
Shadid received a sentence that was marginally more than the recommended range but less than the 20-year maximum.
The judge also mandated that Massengill, a resident of Chillicothe, pay $1.45 million in restitution.
Karl Bryning, the defense attorney, requested a five-year prison term because to Massengill’s history of mental illness and alcoholism.