Man gets 5 years for trying to burn Jewish living facility

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A man convicted of using a homemade bomb to try to burn a Jewish-sponsored assisted living home in Massachusetts has been sentenced to five years in prison. John Rathbun, of East Longmeadow, was also sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield to three years of probation.

Prosecutors say Rathbun used a Christian pamphlet as a wick to light a 5-gallon canister of gasoline at Jewish Geriatric Services Lifecare in Longmeadow on April 2, 2020.

No one was injured. Prosecutors say DNA tied Rathbun to the scene.

Rathbun's attorney says he was struggling with drug addiciton and was not driven by antisemitism.