“Individuals who Goonan seeks to inspire by his actions — those who he seeks to have consider him a political prisoner and a ‘martyr’ — must know that following in his footsteps will lead to a lengthy term of imprisonment,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikhil Bhagat wrote in the Sept. 16 filing.
The prosecution also argued that Goonan was not convicted for expressing or holding political beliefs, but for committing violence in furtherance of those beliefs. They made the case that the court should consider the rise of “endemic political violence” in America in sentencing, highlighting the assassinations of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman in June and Charlie Kirk earlier this month.
The judge also granted the prosecution’s request to place Goonan within a Communications Management Unit, a Bureau of Prisons facility that allows staff to more closely monitor communication between people in custody and those in the community. Prosecutors argued the restriction was necessary because of the “voluminous correspondence” Goonan sent and received while in pretrial custody.
White also sentenced Goonan to 15 years of supervised release, with special conditions limiting his computer use and banning anonymizing services.
One of Goonan’s attorneys, Jeff Wozniak, called the judge’s decision to impose a 235 month sentence “disappointing” and “more than necessary.”
“The bottom line of this case is that it’s property destruction, and nobody was harmed,” Wozniak told KQED.
Goonan’s defense, which asked the judge for a reduced sentence of eight years, argued that their client was suffering from untreated bipolar disorder, which motivated Goonan’s actions and explained many of their writings in jail. Goonan, who was born and raised in the East Bay, lived a non-violent and non-criminal life before age 33, defense attorneys argued. They included an opinion from a psychiatrist stating that Goonan’s “risk for future violence is very low when not suffering from symptoms of his psychiatric disorder.”
Wozniak and attorney Sarah Potter argued that Goonan, who has a doctorate in African American studies from Northwestern University, was involved with community organizing, especially related to support of incarcerated people and developmentally disabled adults, and “went too far” during a manic episode.
“Casey’s desire to raise awareness about the ongoing genocide and the U.S. support of that genocide in Gaza remains steadfast,” Wozniak added. “Their focus on Palestinian liberation remains and they will continue to raise awareness from the inside about these pressing issues and of course the issues facing political prisoners all across this country.”
Goonan has received some support from community organizers inside and outside of jail walls. Political activists across the country, including fellow incarcerated individuals, have penned letters of solidarity with Goonan, highlighting their years of community activism.
KQED’s Sara Hossaini contributed to this report.
