Christopher Rodriguez, a 45-year-old attorney from Panama City, Florida, received a sentence of 102 months in federal prison for his involvement in an attempted bombing near the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and for a separate bombing incident in San Antonio, Texas. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division.
Rodriguez admitted guilt on August 2, 2024, to charges that included damaging property occupied by a foreign government and possession of an unregistered firearm. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg ordered Rodriguez to serve three years under supervised release.
Court documents reveal that on September 23-24, 2023, Rodriguez traveled from Florida to Northern Virginia with explosive materials. He made stops in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville before proceeding to Arlington. There he used a burner phone to arrange transport close to the Chinese Embassy where he attempted but failed to detonate explosives placed next to a streetlight.
DNA evidence linked Rodriguez to this incident as well as another event between November 5 and 7, 2022. During this earlier event in San Antonio, Texas, Rodriguez caused significant damage estimated at $325,000 by detonating explosives at the base of a satirical sculpture depicting communist leaders.
Rodriguez was apprehended on November 4, 2023, in Lafayette, Louisiana and has remained detained since then.
The case involved multiple agencies including ATF's field divisions across several states along with assistance from various U.S. Attorney’s Offices and other federal law enforcement entities.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jolie F. Zimmerman and Stuart D. Allen are leading the prosecution with support from their colleagues Maeghan Mikorski and Kelly Stephenson as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCarthy.
