Also Intended to Shoot Doctors Who Provided Abortions
GREENBELT, Md. - Robert F. Weiler, Jr., age 26, of Forestville, Maryland was sentenced on Monday to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for possessing a pipe bomb (an unregistered destructive device), being a felon in possession of a firearm and attempting to destroy or damage an abortion clinic located on Greenbelt Road in Greenbelt, Maryland, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein stated, "We must continue to act quickly against anyone who plots to murder doctors or bomb abortion clinics. Mr. Weiler's misguided plan could have resulted in deaths or serious injuries if it were not for the actions of ATF, the Maryland State Police and the Prince George's County Police."
According to the statement of facts presented to the court as part of his guilty plea, on June 7, 2006, Weiler spoke by telephone with ATF agents while they were interviewing one of Weiler’s friends. Weiler advised that: he was at a rest stop in Western Maryland and wanted to surrender himself immediately; he was in possession of a firearm that he had stolen from a friend; and he had constructed a pipe bomb which was concealed in a closet in a house located in Riverdale, Maryland. Agents arrested Weiler at the rest stop and recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun from the vehicle Weiler had been driving. Weiler was prohibited from possessing a firearm based on a 2003 conviction in Utah state court for obstructing police.
The next day, Weiler advised agents that he was going to use the pipe bomb to blow up an abortion clinic located in Greenbelt, Maryland and that he was going to use the gun to shoot doctors who provided abortions. ATF agents and Prince George’s County Police officers discovered the pipe bomb - consisting of a 1" diameter galvanized pipe, end caps, a length of pyrotechnic fuse and black powder - in a first floor closet at the Riverdale home where it had been hidden by Weiler.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the investigative work performed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Prince Georges County Police Department and Maryland State Police. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Foreman, who is prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Attorney for the District of Maryland