Spokane man sentenced for attack on temple

OKLAHOMA CITY – A federal judge sentenced a Spokane man to 39 years in prison Tuesday for firebombing a Jewish temple. The defendant raised his hand in a stiff-armed Nazi salute as the judge turned her back and left the courtroom.

Sean M. Gillespie, 21, was found guilty in April of three bombing-related charges for hurling a Molotov cocktail at Temple B’Nai Israel here on April 1, 2004. His act, which caused only minor damage to a brick wall and a glass door, was captured on a security videotape.

Gillespie, who once belonged to the white supremacist group Aryan Nations, was convicted of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, damaging a building used in interstate commerce and having an unregistered destructive device.

His sentence was enhanced because of a letter he attempted to send to the temple after his conviction that was filled with racist comments. The letter, which was read in court, expressed his hatred toward the Jewish people and his desire to incite a racial holy war.

Temple B’Nai Israel’s Rabbi Barry Cohen said the attack sparked fear and anger among members of his congregation.

“There was little physical damage to the building, but there was clear psychological damage,” Cohen said. “In this country, we can’t be afraid in our places of worship. That’s just not acceptable.”

Gillespie’s letter, which was intercepted at the Grady County Jail and turned over to the FBI, never reached the temple, but Cohen said he was disturbed by its contents.

“That was very disconcerting to hear such textbook anti-Semitic hatred,” Cohen said. “He seems like a very dangerous man right now.”

Gillespie asked U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron for leniency.

“I’m not saying what I did was right, but I don’t deserve 35 years,” he said.

He told the judge he had a troubled childhood and had lived on the streets since age 11 before being befriended by a group that endorsed white supremacy.

“These people took me off the streets,” Gillespie said in a voice trembling with emotion. “They are the only people who have ever loved me.”

Federal sentencing guidelines called for a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison, but Cauthron said a longer prison term was warranted, citing the letter and the nature of Gillespie’s crime.

“What you’ve done is not an act of vandalism, it’s an act of violence,” Cauthron said.

Gillespie was arrested April 16, 2004, in Russellville, Ark., by FBI agents and Arkansas law enforcement officers.

According to an FBI affidavit, an informant told agents that Gillespie had been living in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and had recently gone to the Russellville area after firebombing a synagogue in Oklahoma City.