The Justice Department announced today that Sonia Tabizada, age 36, of San Jacinto, California, pleaded guilty in federal court to intentionally obstructing persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs by threatening to bomb the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 247.
In May 2019, school officials announced that Visitation Prep, the oldest Catholic school for girls in the country, would begin publishing same-sex wedding announcements in its alumni magazine to advance its teaching that “we are all children of God … worthy of respect and love.” According to the plea agreement, Tabizada learned of this announcement and made multiple calls threatening violence in response to the school’s decision. On May 15, 2019, Tabizada left a voice message stating that she was going to burn and bomb the church. Tabizada also stated that she was going to kill school officials and students. Several minutes later, Tabizada left a second voice mail stating that she was going to blow up the school and warned that she would commit “terrorism.”
Tabizada allegedly said, “Hey motherfuckers, I’m going to burn that fucking church, I’m going to bomb it, bitch! I’m going to fucking kill you guys. I’m going to send my fucking soldiers, motherfuckers. Remove the fucking gay motherfuckers from your magazine, or I’m going to fucking kill your kids. That’s a promise.”
In the second voicemail, she allegedly ranted, “What kind of pervert priests do you guys have running the show? Nobody cares for those girls? You’re crushing the innocent, motherfucking asshole. I’m gonna fucking blow up the school and call it a mission from God. You guys are going to get terrorism within your fucking school, motherfucker. And you’re going to be guilty. And I warned you!”
“The defendant made violent threats against high school students, religious leaders, and school officials based solely on her disagreement with a private school’s application of religious doctrine,” said Eric Drieband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Tolerance and religious freedom are cornerstone values in our society and the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute violent threats motivated by bias.”
“The defendant’s violent threats were directed at the free exercise of a private school community’s religious beliefs. An attack upon the free exercise of any person or group’s religious beliefs is an attack upon the civil rights of every citizen. Today’s guilty plea is part of my office’s commitment to ensuring that all District citizens can safely exercise their religious beliefs and that all of their civil rights are protected,” said Michael R. Sherwin, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
“Tabizada used threats of violence to intimidate others because of differing religious views,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Every citizen and community has the Constitutional right to exercise their own religious beliefs free from fear and discrimination. Defending civil rights is a top priority for the FBI and we will continue to work to protect the civil rights and freedoms granted to all Americans.”
Tabizada will be sentenced at a hearing scheduled for March 23, 2021. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
