Wannabe Bomber Gets Zero Jail Time for Planting Homemade Explosives During BLM Protests

[tenderfoot]

Must have gotten one of those soft-on-crime progressive DA's...

A Pennsylvania man who admitted to leaving a bag of homemade bombs in downtown Pittsburgh during the 2020 protests against the death of George Floyd won’t spend a day behind bars. Matthew Michanowicz, 53, was sentenced to time served and three years of probation by a judge on Monday. The first six months of his sentence will be served under home detention.

Michanowicz, who was called an “agitator” intent on violence by a former federal prosecutor, pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered destructive device following a grand jury indictment in June 2020. A prosecutor at his trial argued Michanowicz should receive between 30 and 37 months in prison on the basis that his devices could have killed or seriously injured people.

Michanowicz was captured on surveillance footage biking to a protest site and planting a backpack there on May 31, 2020. A day later, officers summoned to respond to the suspicious bag found three explosive devices. Authorities later said the devices were spent pepper spray grenades with wicks held in place by foam spray insulation, filled with gasoline and capable of causing death. Investigators who later searched Michanowicz’s home found 10 more backpacks similar to the one he had planted.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2021/12/06/Pittsburgh-man-gets-probation-for-planting-bombs-Downtown/stories/202112060118

I look forward to his Waukesha moment...

[PortTack]

1. While privilege...

[rpannier]

2. Let's play "What color is he?"

I'm gonna say white

[iemanja]

12. really white

Hi picture is at the link.

[Demovictory9]

3. unbelievable

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. I thought bomb making got you decades in Federal Prison

WTF

[Baitball Blogger]

6. Makes you kinda wonder if he was on a mission from one of our police forces or intelligence

agencies. If the bombs had gone off, it would have given Trump a reason to go in with military force.

[FBaggins]

7. There are bombs... and then there are bombs

Most readers probably envisioned pipe bombs or pressure cookers with high explosives and either a timer or a remote detonating device. That he intended to set the bombs off during the BLM event and injure/kill people.

The reality was that they were essentially Molotov cocktails. That’s still technically an explosive device, but it isn’t something that he could have set off to injure the crowd. As implied by the “agitator” description, he likely intended for the protestors to find/use them during the event.

Still a crime… but different from the one most probably assume. Looking at a couple of states, it’s a Class D felony with 1-5 years in prison. Depending on how much time he served in pretrial detention and any plea that he made… the reported sentence isn’t wildly out of line. It would be different if someone had used one of his devices and people were injured or property destroyed

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. They treated these two like they had nuclear devices:

There was talk of 30 years to life and terrorism enhancements

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/882075310/lawyers-charged-with-seven-felonies-in-molotov-cocktail-attack-out-on-bail

[FBaggins]

10. Did they?

Last I saw, they had plead guilty to the same crime as in the OP and their attorney was arguing for no prison time. Sentencing is in February

Also - can't we agree that there's at least some difference when you light the wick and throw the device at a police vehicle (vs. leaving it where someone else might use it)?

On edit - They also appear to be out on bail while the guy in the OP spent a year and a half in detention.

[Boomerproud]

5. Why not a high five for him.

I never want to hear that we are complaining too much about these slaps on the wrist. 🤬

[uponit7771]

8. Betty White

[Orrex]

11. That'll sure teach him!

He's lucky that he's not black and suspected of selling cigarettes.

Nope, he's just a white asshole planning mass murder. Nothing to see here.

[Progressive Jones]

13. The article at the link says he's a fucking junkie. Does anyone think that

got him a light sentence? "My client needs help, not prison time, Your Honor."

[Kid Berwyn]

14. Bet if the bombs had detonated, BLM would be blamed.

Or at least the judge was OK with the idea.

[durablend]

15. They'd be blaming Biden, that's for sure

"Brandon soft on crime again!"

[Johnny2X2X]

16. You're seeing this across the country right now

The courts and prosecutors are letting Right Wingers off with slaps on the wrist as long as they were targeting libs. It's sickening.