Clinic Arsonist Released From Prison Man Who Set Three Fires Prohibited From Future Anti-Abortion Protests

A man convicted of setting fire to abortion clinics in Western Washington in the 1980s has been released from federal prison after serving 12 years of a 20-year sentence.

Curtis Beseda has returned to the region and is living with a relative in the Bellingham area, federal probation officer Bill Peek told The Herald of Everett for a story Tuesday.

But Beseda won’t be able to resume his anti-abortion protests. As a condition of his release, he is prohibited from coming within 1,000 feet of facilities where abortions are performed. He also will be evaluated by a physician for possible mental-health treatment and is required to take any medication recommended by the doctor, Peek said.

Beseda, formerly an Everett resident, was convicted of setting three fires at the Feminist Women’s Health Center in 1983 and 1984, eventually forcing the clinic to close. He also was convicted of setting a fire at a Bellingham clinic.

At his trial, Beseda admitted setting the fires but said he made sure nobody was inside the buildings. He said he was unhappy he caused people emotional distress, but was glad that he might have helped prevent some abortions.

Beseda, who was released Thursday, could not be located for comment Tuesday.

Peek said he met with Beseda on Friday. “He was very cooperative. He gave me the impression he wants to do right,” the probation officer said.

Beseda spent most of his prison time at LaTuna Correctional Facility in Anthony, Texas. He was sent to a corrections facility in Sheridan, Ore., in May 1995, and went to the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., on Sept. 19.

Despite his probation conditions, some area abortion-services providers are worried.

“We’re all rather concerned and, frankly, on high alert because we all know he’s an anti-choice activist,” said Marcy Bloom, director of Aradia Women’s Health Center in Seattle.

Bloom worked at the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Everett at the time Beseda set the fires.

“We want Curtis to leave us alone and we want all anti-choice activists to leave us alone,” Bloom said.