20yr 'anarchist' student accused of bomb conspiracy

Saturday, June 14, 2003

Student in bomb plot case still in custody

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

A 20-year-old Western Washington University student accused of planning to bomb federal installations remained in custody after a brief hearing yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Paul Douglas Revak is a Snohomish resident and WWU history major with no criminal history. He faces a maximum of life in prison if found guilty of the charge of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction.

According to James Powers, the FBI's special agent in Bellingham, Revak met with an undercover agent and asked to obtain explosives in order to bomb any of a number of federal facilities, including a local Coast Guard station and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Public defender Tom Hillier of Seattle represented Revak in court yesterday, along with Seattle attorney Tim Lohraff.

"My sense is he's just a 20-year-old kid who's enthusiastic about politics, concerned about the course of this administration and said some things he shouldn't have," Hillier said.

"Our feeling is that, pre-9/11, this wouldn't have been charged this way."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Hamilton agreed that such threats are taken more seriously now, but said the charges against Revak are based on both words and actions.

The young man's parents, Matthew and Norma Revak, issued a statement emphasizing shock at their son's arrest, their faith in the justice system and a request that people remember that he is innocent until proven guilty.

"Paul has always been a good son that we could be proud of, and he has never been in trouble before," they said.