A federal jury in Chicago has convicted 70-year-old Thomas James Zajac of detonating a pipe bomb at the BNSF Railway Station in Hinsdale, Illinois, in 2006, causing damage and injuries to a station agent. This dangerous act brings to light Zajac's troubled past and his harrowing experience with bombings across different states.
Zajac's criminal history dates back to 2006, when he was convicted of six violations of federal law stemming from a bombing at the Salt Lake City Public Library. The incident took place just weeks prior to the suburban Chicago train station explosion. Zajac was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for this event, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2011. Following the Salt Lake City bombing, Zajac sent threatening letters boasting about his actions and warning that the next bomb would be more extensive and designed to kill people in crowded public places.
In 2013, Zajac appealed his conviction, claiming that his defense counsel provided him with insufficient representation and prejudiced him during his trial. However, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, stating that there was overwhelming evidence supporting his guilt, as an article by The Salt Lake Tribune reported in 2017. The court ruled that Zajac's case may have been "imperfect," but there was strong evidence from multiple, independent sources that supported the jury's guilty verdict.
For the Chicago train station attack in 2006, Zajac has been convicted of all three counts against him, including attempting to destroy property with an explosive device, possessing an unregistered destructive device, and willfully making a threat through the mail to kill or injure a person with an explosive device, according to the United States Department of Justice, Northern District of Illinois. Sentencing is set for December 13, 2023. The property destruction count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years, with each of the other two counts punishable by a maximum of ten years.
Investigations tied Zajac to both bombings through fingerprints, phone and credit card records, and library surveillance video, which placed him at the respective locations. Evidence has suggested that Zajac committed the bombings as retribution for perceived wrongdoings by police against a family member who was arrested the prior year.
