Family Research Center shooter pleads guilty to terrorism, says he considered bombing building
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 6, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The man who opened fire inside the headquarters of the Family Research Center last August pleaded guilty today to committing an act of terrorism.
Floyd Lee Corkins II admitted that he considered bombing the building of the pro-life and pro-family organization before deciding to shoot as many employees as possible.
Floyd Corkins being arrested.
Reversing his previous not guilty plea, Corkins pleaded guilty to one count of committing an act of terrorism with the intent to kill, one count of intent to kill while armed, and one federal count of crossing state lines with guns and ammunition. Seven additional charges were dropped.
On August 15, Corkins told FRC guard Leo Johnson “I don't like your politics” before shooting him in the arm. Johnson, however, managed to wrestle the gun away from him. Police found a backpack containing 50 rounds of ammunition and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
In a videotaped confession, the 28-year-old homosexual activist said he intended to "kill as many as possible and smear the Chick-Fil-A sandwiches in victims' faces, and kill the guard." He hoped the atrocity would "make a statement against the people who work in that building...and with their stance against gay rights and [for] Chick-fil-A."
Corkins said he used the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to identify a list of “hate groups,” which he carried with him. If he survived, officials said he hoped to target several other pro-life, pro-family organizations, although they did not release the list.
“Were it not for the heroic guard who tackled Floyd Corkins, he could have succeeded in perpetrating a mass killing spree in the nation’s capital,” said U.S. Attorney Ron Machen.
FRC President Tony Perkins said the case vindicated his charge that the SPLC had poured rhetorical gasoline on the fire of the culture wars, which ended in this shooting.
“The Southern Poverty Law Center can no longer say that it is not a source for those bent on committing acts of violence,” said Perkins. “Only by ending its hate labeling practices will the SPLC send a message that it no longer wishes to be a source for those who would commit acts of violence that are only designed to intimidate and silence Christians and others who support natural marriage and traditional morality.”
Andrea Lafferty, president of the Traditional Values Coalition, told LifeSiteNews.com that she learned from agents that TVC was also on Floyd's hit list. However, when she reached out to the Justice Department for protection, she said she received the cold shoulder.
“If someone had mailed bacon to a mosque, all heck would have broken loose, and they would have sent in attorneys from the Justice Department. It’s considered a hate crime,” Lafferty told LifeSiteNews. “The United States Justice Department under Eric Holder has put Christians at a low priority.”
However, recent e-mails show the Department of Justice has a cozy relationship with the SPLC.
Prosecutors were able to show premeditation because of Corkins' gun purchase and practice, as well as a previous visit to the building.
They said Corkins, who had been volunteering at The DC Center for the LGBT Community, committed an act of terrorism because he aimed "to intimidate and coerce a significant portion of the civilian population of the District of Columbia and the United States."
The U.S. attorney cited the case as reason to enact gun control. “This case highlights the dangers of access to high-capacity magazines that allow killers to inflict carnage on a mass scale in the blink of an eye,” said Machen.
Judge Richard W. Roberts could give Corkins a maximum of 70 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 29.
