A Chicago man who allegedly doused a woman in gasoline and set her on fire on Nov. 17 was a “career criminal,” the White House said.
Lawrence Reed, who was arrested for the crime, had 72 prior arrests, including eight felony and seven misdemeanor convictions, according to the White House.
The victim, Bethany MaGee, 26, survived the attack but “is now fighting for her life with horrific burns,” the White House said in a statement.
In court on Monday, Mr. Reed shouted “I’m guilty” three times in succession after the judge warned he could face life in prison on charges including committing a terrorist attack, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
The White House sought to blame the incident on Democrats’ crime policies, calling them “soft.”
Both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are run by Democrats, and President Donald Trump is currently seeking to withhold federal funds from Illinois due to the elimination of “cash bail,” in which an arrested person pays a sum of money to be released from jail before trial.
The suspect “was on the loose thanks to the sweeping and dangerous ‘no cash bail’ law, proudly signed by Governor JB Pritzker and celebrated by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who defunded the police,” the White House said in a statement released Tuesday.
Mayor Johnson said in a statement that the attack “was a tragic incident and the mayor’s prayers are with the victim and his family.”
Mr. Reed, 50, has a history of mental illness and has been arrested 72 times since he was 18, according to a Chicago affiliate of BBC partner CBS News.
In August, he was charged with aggravated battery for allegedly hitting a social worker, and after his arrest he was released on electronic monitoring over the objections of prosecutors.
The attack on Ms. MaGee occurred while she was “minding her own business and reading her phone,” prosecutors said.
According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Reed approached her from the rear of the train car, who then doused her with gasoline before running.
While chasing her, according to the complaint, Mr. Reed ignited the remaining liquid in the bottle and set Ms. MaGee on fire.
Footage of the incident appeared to show Mr Reed watching Ms MaGee as she rolled on the ground, engulfed in flames, trying to put out the fire.
Last week, Mayor Johnson said the attack “should never have happened,” calling it “an absolute failure of our criminal justice as well as our mental health institutions.”
He said the suspect clearly faced mental health issues and posed a danger to himself and the community.
As a county commissioner, Johnson introduced a non-binding resolution in 2020 to redirect funds from police and prisons to other public services, but during his run for mayor in 2023, he promised not to cut police spending.
