CHICAGO – A magistrate judge ordered a suburban Chicago man held without bond Monday on charges he set a fire at an air traffic control center, causing damage that brought the city’s two international airports to a halt.
Dressed in hospital scrubs and wearing a large white bandage on his neck, 36-year-old Brian Howard of Naperville appeared before Judge Michael Mason at Chicago’s federal courthouse Monday afternoon, hours after he was released from a hospital and arrested by federal officers.
Listening intently with a furrowed brow, Howard told the judge in a clear voice that he understood why he was there.
Defense attorney Ron Safer told reporters after the hearing that Howard made a “tragic mistake” while trying to kill himself and “deeply regrets” the trouble he caused for air travelers Friday. Safer asked the public for compassion and forgiveness. He declined to answer specific questions about what led up to Friday’s fire or what was happening in Howard’s life.
Prosecutors say Howard started the fire Friday at a regional control center in suburban Aurora before trying to commit suicide by slitting his throat.