A federal judge was not swayed by the last-ditch attempt from an Army veteran with extensive ties to white supremacists to change his guilty plea in a plot to bomb a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.
Kevin Harpham said in court he only agreed to plead guilty to planting a bomb filled with poison-laced shrapnel along the downtown Spokane parade route to avoid a possible life sentence, telling the judge: "I am not guilty of the acts that I am accused of and that I plead guilty to."
U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush responded by handing down the maximum punishment at his discretion.
"I am distressed that you appear not the least bit apologetic," said Quackenbush, as he sentenced Harpham to 32 years in prison Tuesday. The possible prison sentence was negotiated in the plea bargain as between 27 and 32 years.
Harpham blamed the judge for not giving his defense team enough time. The 37-year-old said he did not intend to injure people with the bomb he placed in downtown Spokane prior to the January parade.