Florida attorney Christopher Rodriguez pleaded guilty to three felony counts related to an attempted bombing outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., last year, agreeing to a prison sentence of seven to 10 years.
Rodriguez, a 45-year-old criminal defense attorney in Panama City, Florida, previously bombed a sculpture of communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong in San Antonio, Texas, on November 7, 2022. He used similar tactics in his Texas bombing, which took place outside of the Texas Public Radio headquarters, as in his attempt on the Chinese embassy.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese embassy for comment via email on Friday evening.
In his plea deal signed on July 30, he acknowledged the three counts: damaging property occupied by foreign government, possessing explosive materials and an unregistered firearm.
The plea deal also states that after incarceration, he will be under three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on October 28, according to the Associated Press.
Newsweek reached out to the public defender representing Rodriguez via email on Friday evening.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a news release on Friday detailing the incident and acknowledging the plea deal.
Attorney Pleads Guilty to Attempted Bombing Near the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. https://t.co/hw3irUIkQT @ATFWashington @NDFLnews @USAO_WDLA @USAO_WDTX @ATFNewOrleans @ATFHou @FBIWFO @FBISanAntonio @HSI_DC @SecretService @StateDeptDSS @DCPoliceDept and ATF Tampa.
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) August 2, 2024
In September, Rodriguez drove from his Florida home to Northern Virginia “with a rifle and 15 pounds of explosive material,” the DOJ said in a news release.
He reportedly bought a backpack, gloves and a burner cellphone. The next day, on September 24, he used the burner phone to call a taxi to take him near the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., where he placed the backpack filled with explosives near the back of the building.
He then stepped away and shot at it with his rifle to ignite it. “Rodriguez missed his target, and the device failed to detonate,” the statement reads. Law enforcement officers later investigated the backpack filled with the explosives and tracked down three shell casings and video footage.
DNA obtained from the backpack matched Rodriguez, who was already in the national database due to a 2021 arrest in California. He was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers, charged with possessing three firearms and Tannerite explosive bags in his car.
On November 4, he was arrested in Lafayette, Louisiana, in relation to the embassy bombing attempt and Texas bombing. He has been held in the D.C. jail.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ for comment via email on Friday evening.
Rodriguez’s motives for the bombings in Washington, D.C., and Texas remain unknown.
