WASHINGTON -- The top federal prosecutor in D.C. said in a statement on Wednesday that the politically-motivated shooting of a security guard at the Family Research Council in August demonstrated the danger of high-capacity magazines.
Floyd Lee Corkins II, a 28-year-old Virginia man, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to committing an act of terrorism while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed and interstate transportation of firearm and ammunition. It marked the first time a defendant had been convicted under D.C.'s Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002. He's facing up to 70 years in prison.
Corkins only managed to shoot one individual, the security guard who tackled him to the ground. But U.S. Attorney Ron Machen said the case showed the danger of high-capacity magazines, which the Obama administration is working to ban.
"Were it not for the heroic guard who tackled Floyd Corkins, he could have succeeded in perpetrating a mass killing spree in the nation's capital," Machen said in a statement. "This case highlights the dangers of access to high-capacity magazines that allow killers to inflict carnage on a mass scale in the blink of an eye. Today's guilty plea makes clear that using violence to terrorize political opponents will not be tolerated."
Corkins, who admitted targeting the Family Research Council because of their opposition to gay marriage, had two fully loaded magazine clips in one of his pockets and 50 rounds of ammunition in his backpack along with 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
Numerous bullet fragments remain in the security guard's arm, according to a Justice Department press release.