In addition to the almost 20-year sentence, Judge Jeffrey White ordered Casey Goonan to pay nearly $100 thousand dollars for the car bombing and multiple other acts, reports The College Fix. The Fix also reports that Goonan, who lived with his parents in a $1.1 million dollar home, uses the "they/them" pronouns, suggesting he may identify as a transgender.
Goonan lawyer tried to pin the investigation because of his client’s anti-Israel political stance. But the U.S. Department of Justice reports that Goonan admitted this his attacks were inspired by the October 7th Israel attack.
The purpose was “to influence and affect the conduct of government by intimidation and coercion” and “to retaliate against the government of the United States and the State of California for their conduct.” He was also calling on others to attack colleges in the Bay Area in support of Palestine.
On top of the sentence and the fine, the Justice Department also labeled Goonan as a domestic terrorist.
Matt Lamb, associate editor of The College Fix and author of the story, hopes the sentence discourages other would-be leftist radicals..
"It certainly seems like an act of terrorism, particularly targeting groups like police officers, who we know the radical left despises. They want to defund the police. Hopefully, this sends a strong message and tamps down that anti-police hatred that we often see on the radical left," says Lamb.
Unlike conservatives and activists on the right, Lamb thinks that radicals on the left won't hesitate to resort to violence if it suits their purposes.
"This act shows that the left will resort to political violence. The think-tank nerds will claim that the conservatives are more violent, but it's pretty obvious that the radical left has no problem using violence, even terrorism, to advance their means," states Lamb.
