GREEN BAY, Wis., April 5 (UPI) -- A man charged with starting a fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Wisconsin told a federal magistrate Wednesday he wants to plead guilty.
Francis Grady, 50, of Grand Chute, Wis., tried to fire his court-appointed lawyer, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Sickel scheduled a preliminary hearing later this month, paying no attention to Grady's talk of a guilty plea, and his public defender told Grady that only a court can dismiss him.
Grady, who appeared in court in a jail jumpsuit, was arrested Sunday, about 2 hours after the fire at the clinic in Grand Chute. Police reports said Grady admitted breaking a window with a hammer, pouring gasoline into the building and lighting it.
"They're killing babies there," Grady said to a reporter who asked him why he had set the fire.
During his hearing, Grady had a question for the judge: "Do you even care at all about the 1,000 babies that died screaming?"
At one point during the hearing, a woman sitting in the courtroom called to Grady, "Shut up, Frankie."
Grady told his lawyer his sister had just ordered him to shut up.
