Arsonist Who Targeted Somali Caf茅 Gets 15 Years in Prison
A federal judge in North Dakota followed prosecutors鈥� recommendations in sentencing a Minnesota man to 15 years in prison Tuesday for using a Molotov cocktail to burn down a Somali caf茅 in Grand Forks, N.D., late last year
The firebomb - thrown through a window at 2 a.m. on Dec. 8 by a masked man - destroyed the Juba Caf茅, a popular gathering spot for Somalis, and damaged adjoining businesses, causing an estimated $250,000 in damage, authorities said.
Matthew William Gust, 26, of East Grand Forks, Minn., was arrested by the FBI and sheriff鈥檚 deputies in Fosston, Minn., six days after the firebombing.
Tips from a family member, blood droplets left at the scene, surveillance video and the recovery of a mask believed used by the arsonist led to the suspect鈥檚 arrest, court documents indicate.
The hate crime investigation by the FBI 鈥渞evealed that Gust had a strong dislike for Somalis and did not want them living in the Grand Forks area,鈥� according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
鈥淲hen encountering Somalis, [Gust] would frequently get angry and describe them using the word 鈥榥-----.鈥� He told friends and co-workers that he thought Somalis 鈥榥eeded to go away鈥� and that he would 鈥榙o something鈥� about it or 鈥榯ake care of it鈥� or 鈥榢ick all Somalians鈥� asses,鈥欌�� the documents say.
Defense attorney Theodore Sandberg told the court that Gust was not a racist or white supremacist, but had developed an animus toward Somalis after he was robbed at gunpoint last year while working with a family member at a sandwich shop, shortly after he was released from prison. Suspects in that crime have not been identified or arrested.
鈥淎fter a night of drinking, and a day after ingesting meth, Gust created the Molotov cocktail and decided he would settle the score with the robbers by damaging their national associates鈥� gathering place,鈥� Sandberg wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
The defense attorney said that explanation was not an excuse, nor a mitigating factor, 鈥渂ut the racial component is not as clear-cut or as simplistic as some of the narratives that have been pushed by others (outside of this case) when considering this crime.鈥�
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson told Gust that his decision to firebomb the Somali cafe because of the robbery 鈥渨as silly since it's not even clear if [those suspects] were Somali,鈥� reported.
鈥淚f you had been robbed by three Norwegian dudes, would you attack the Sons of Norway hall?鈥� the judge asked Gust.
Gust pleaded guilty in May to malicious use of explosive material and interference with a federally protected activity. His defense attorney said Gust鈥檚 admission of guilty 鈥渃learly shows鈥� that he the defendant 鈥渒nows what he did was wrong鈥� and how much hurt he caused.
Dana Mulhauser, of the Justice Department鈥檚 Civil Rights Division, said in a sentencing memorandum that Gust鈥檚 Molotov cocktail 鈥� gasoline poured into a 40-ounce beer bottle 鈥� was hurled 鈥渋nto the nerve center of Grand Forks鈥� small Somali community 鈥� the place where people could share a meal, eat familiar food, and socialize.鈥�
The restaurant owners frequently worked past midnight to prepare food for the following day, 鈥渟o the lack of injuries on this day was a matter of luck,鈥� the prosecutor said. 鈥淚n carrying out this crime, [Gust] used the incendiary device in a way calculated to cause massive disruption and fear, meriting a significant upward departure.鈥�
The Justice Department prosecutor and Christopher C. Myers, the U.S. Attorney for North Dakota, told sentencing Judge Ralph Erickson that a 15-year sentence was warranted as a deterrence to demonstrate 鈥� that violence on the basis of national origin is not tolerated by this court or by the federal system of justice.鈥�
The prosecutors recommended Gust be ordered to pay $268,927 in restitution. The judge said he would take that under advisement and issue a restitution order in days to come.
