California man pleads guilty to firebombing clinic, vandalizing mosque

Masjid Madera

A central California man pleaded guilty to throwing a Molotov cocktail into a local Planned Parenthood clinic in Madera, CA and throwing a brick into a mosque in the city.

Donny Eugene Mower, 38, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of arson, one count of damaging religious property and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to damage the property of a reproductive health services facility, said the Department of Justice in an Oct. 7 statement. The charges stem from Mower’s lighting a fire inside a Planned Parenthood clinic and throwing a brick at a mosque in Madera in the summer of 2010, it said.

Mower is scheduled to be sentenced in January and faces five to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the arson charge.  He also faces sentences of up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both, on the damaging religious property and FACE Act charges, said the department.

During his plea, Mower admitted that early on Sept. 2, 2010, he drove to Madera Planned Parenthood Clinic, lit a home-made Molotov cocktail, and threw it through a ground-floor window. The resulting fire caused $26,000 in damage and closed the clinic for two days.

Mower also admitted that the previous August, two days after placing a sign in front of Masjid Madera, a local mosque, that read “No temple for the god of terrorism at ground zero. ANB,” he threw a brick at the front of the mosque and damaged its facade.  ANB stands for the American Nationalist Brotherhood. In August of 2010, the construction of a mosque in lower Manhattan in New York City was stirring controversy nationwide. The Justice Department said Mower left more signs in August last year, that said “Wake up America, the enemy is here” and “American Nationalist Brotherhood.”  Mower admitted that he threw the brick at Masjid Madera because of the race, color or ethnic characteristics of the individuals associated with the mosque.

“Interference with the lawful work of reproductive health clinics will not be tolerated; nor will attacks directed at places of worship because of the perceived ethnicity of those who worship there,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights Division.  “The Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute those who carry out these acts.”

“We will vigorously safeguard the right of Muslim Americans to practice their religion free from the fear of intimidation, and the right of reproductive health centers to conduct their activities free from violence,” said U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner for the Eastern District of California.  “Donny Mower’s campaign of hate and intimidation is over, but the work of the U.S. Justice Department in protecting constitutional rights is unending.”