The Chicago man who allegedly doused a woman in gasoline and lit her on fire on 17 November was a 'career criminal', the White House has said.
Lawrence Reed, who was arrested for the crime, had 72 prior arrests that include eight felony convictions and seven misdemeanors, according to the White House.
The victim, 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, survived the attack but is 'now fighting for her life with horrific burns', the White House stated.
In court on Monday, Mr. Reed yelled three times in succession 'I'm guilty' after the judge warned he could receive a life sentence for charges including committing a terrorist attack, according to courtroom reports.
The White House has sought to blame the incident on Democrats' policies on crime, criticizing them as 'soft'. Both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are led by Democrats, and President Donald Trump is currently seeking to withhold federal funds from Illinois over its elimination of 'cash bail'.
The suspect 'was walking free because of the radical, dangerous 'no cash bail' law proudly signed by Governor JB Pritzker and celebrated by Chicago's defund-the-police Mayor Brandon Johnson', according to a White House statement.
Mayor Johnson described the attack as a tragic incident, offering prayers for the victim and her family.
Reed, 50, has a history of mental illness and has been arrested 72 times since he turned 18. In August, he was charged with aggravated battery for allegedly hitting a social worker and was released with electronic monitoring against prosecutors' objections.
The attack against Ms. MaGee occurred while she was 'minding her own business and reading her phone', according to prosecutors. He approached her from the back of the train car, doused her with gasoline before she ran, and as he chased her, ignited the rest of the liquid, setting her on fire.
Footage of the incident suggested Mr. Reed watched as Ms. MaGee rolled on the floor engulfed in flames, attempting to extinguish the fire. Mayor Johnson condemned the incident, labeling it 'an absolute failure of our criminal justice as well as our mental health institutions'.
He emphasized the need to address challenges facing mental health and their impact on community safety, reflecting on his prior initiatives to direct funds away from policing while promising not to cut police spending during his mayoral campaign.
