Terrorist Who Burned Austin Democratic Party HQ Faces 70 Years In Prison

     A week ago, I reported on the third attack on Texas Democrats in the past twelve months. We are still trying to seek justice for the October 2020 attack on the Biden bus, and the hurling of a rock into the HQ for the Travis County Democratic Party in Austin, Texas, was what prompted the installation of cameras that captured the events of September 29th, 2021.

     Now, we have an arrest, a name, a picture, a story, and a prognosis. Ryan Faircloth, 30, of Austin, Texas, was responsible for smashing the building's windows with a rock, tossing an incendiary device called a Molotov cocktail into the hole left by the shattered glass (nearly burning himself in the process), and leaving a threatening note claiming this was a "light warning" that "one thing [Democrats couldn't have was] Texas." A quick response from neighbors saved the party headquarters from major damage. (Considering this was near Texas' Capitol, people were bound to be around, even at two in the morning.) Because of the nature of the threats, the FBI helped investigate.

     The bastard may be smiling in his mugshot, but he won't be for too long. He has been charged with arson and possession of a prohibited weapon (for the Molotov cocktail) in Texas, charges that could put him in prison for anywhere from two to 30 years. At the federal level, he has been charged with arson and attempted arson, facing five to 20 years in prison for each count.

     Let's look at two extremes. He pleads guilty to the state charges and gets two years in prison, and the feds magically decide to drop their charges in exchange for his felony guilty plea. On the other end, he takes his case to trial in both jurisdictions and gets the maximum sentence on all four counts, to be served consecutively, for a combined sentence of 70 years in prison (for a 30-year-old man, basically a life sentence). Neither of these scenarios is likely. In my opinion, having followed cases like this for years, he will probably get somewhere between 10 and 20 years in prison. 

     To all the terrorists who believe political violence is an acceptable way to achieve your objectives, take this as a light warning.