Abortion Foe Admits to Arson Attacks on 7 Clinics

A retired insurance agent from Washington state admitted Tuesday that he set fire to seven abortion clinics in California and three other states, a plea that could land him in federal prison for nearly seven years.

Richard T. Andrews, 60, confessed to the arson fires in an agreement with prosecutors finalized in federal court in Sacramento.

The attacks--including two in Redding and one in Chico--occurred between 1992 and 1995, causing $1 million in losses and disrupting service at some clinics for months. There were no injuries. Although investigators said Andrews once was affiliated with Operation Rescue, they believe the fires were his work alone.

A husky, bearded father of three with a long history of anti-abortion activism, Andrews was linked to the fires in 1996 after police making a predawn traffic stop in Vancouver, Wash., found gasoline cans, a ski mask, butane lighters and the addresses of abortion clinics in his car.

Andrews was cited for erratic driving and released that night, but a federal task force investigating the arsons made him a prime suspect, leading to his indictment last May.

In addition to the incriminating evidence found in his car, Andrews’ vehicle matched the description of one seen fleeing the scene of a fire, and he was absent from home on or around the dates of the attacks.

Also, Andrews had twice been stopped for speeding at times and locations consistent with the fires.

“Mr. Andrews’ career as a terrorist is now over,” said Paul L. Seave, U.S. attorney for California’s eastern district. “And we remain firm in our resolve to prosecute anyone who attempts to commit an act of violence against an abortion clinic.”

A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood in Chico, which was torched in October 1994, said the conclusion of the case “brings some relief.”

“It gives us hope to see that these fanatics are caught, prosecuted and lose,” said Kathy Nolan, executive associate of Planned Parenthood for Shasta and Butte counties. “But we’re not naive enough to think there aren’t others like him out there.”

Andrews is a resident of Wenatchee, Wash., where he took disability retirement in 1992 because of a back injury.

Court documents portray him as a religious activist who has led anti-pornography drives and a boycott of a hospital that provided reproductive services.

In the late 1980s, he became particularly active in the anti-abortion movement, leading clinic blockades and other demonstrations. He was arrested at least four times during protests in Washington state, Portland, Ore., and New York City, and wrote a blueprint for halting abortion through a campaign of public pressure, documents show.

Because of his leadership role, Andrews was named as a defendant in a 1988 civil suit filed by a group of Seattle-area clinics seeking to prevent future blockades. Two years later, a court injunction barring the protests was granted.

It was at that point that Andrews “went underground, took matters into his own hands, and resorted to violence,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Benjamin Wagner, who co-prosecuted the case.

In addition to the Chico and Redding fires, Andrews burned clinics in Helena, Missoula and Kalispell, Mont., in Boise, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyo.

Investigators decided they were hunting for a serial arsonist after they found numerous similarities among the fires:

* They were all set between 3 and 5 a.m.

* Gasoline was used as an accelerant for each.

* The gasoline was carried to the fires in red plastic five-gallon containers, which were left at the scene.

* The containers were wrapped in plastic garbage sacks, bits of which were recovered from the ashes.

* Road flares were used as ignition devices in most of the blazes.

Andrews made no statement in court Tuesday. His lawyer, Kevin Gibbs, said Andrews agreed to plead guilty “because of family concerns.”

Gibbs would not elaborate, but prosecutors said Andrews hopes to be incarcerated in the Pacific Northwest, near a son who suffers from cystic fibrosis.

Andrews, now in custody in Sacramento, will be formally sentenced April 21. Under terms of the agreement, he faces 81 months in prison and three years probation. He will also be ordered to pay restitution.