: Texas tower arsonist sentenced to six and a half years in prison

Texas man Sean Aaron Smith, 30, who set fire to approximately 22 cell towers was sentenced to six and a half years in prison last week, according to court records. Prosecutors said he “maliciously attempted to damage and destroy, using fire, multiple cellular telephone towers around San Antonio between April 2021 and May 2022.”

He is believed to have caused damage worth approximately $1.1 million. According to the prosecutors, he held anti-5G and anti-government views and was also slapped with gun charges. He faced a penalty of five to 20 years in prison for each charge related to arson and up to 10 years in prison for the firearms charge.

Assistant US Attorney Mark Roomberg wrote in a sentencing memorandum, “Witnesses reported the defendant was on a ‘mission’ to destroy the 5G towers because he hated the government and believed they were spying on him. The SAFD arson investigator’s expert opinion is the modus operandi of the other 16 cellular tower arsons match the six towers for which the Defendant pled guilty and that the same person committed all 22 arsons.:

US Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas, said, “My office will not tolerate attacks on our critical infrastructure seeking to shut down our cellular telephone system and endangering our citizens who need to use our 911 emergency systems. An attack on the infrastructure of a community has the potential for devastating effects."