Grand Jury Adds to Charges Against Suspect in FAMU Bombings
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Hate crime charges have been added to the accusations against a White man suspected in two bombings at Florida A&M University.
Lawrence Lombardi, 41, is already being held on federal counts of setting off pipe bombs at Florida's historically Black public institution and possession of a bomb.
Earlier this month, a U.S. federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Lombardi with attempting to "injure, intimidate and interfere with students because of their race and color."
Bombs went off Aug. 31 and Sept. 22 in restrooms at the university, but no one at the 12,000-student campus was injured in either blast. Both explosions were accompanied by racist phone calls to a local television station (see Black Issues, Oct. 14, 1999).
If convicted on all charges, Lombardi could get life in prison. He has pleaded innocent. His trial, originally scheduled for Jan. 4, has been indefinitely delayed. n
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