I've dealt with the FCC enforcement guys quite a bit over the years. With very few exeptions, they are very good engineers, and fair guys to boot. "Willful and repeated" means you're gonna pay, and the fines are seldom (if ever) light.
When I get a call from those guys (usually aviation interference), I drop everything and verify my stuff is clean. I'm never the source of the interference, but I fire up the spectrum analyzer and confirm. Even if I was the source, they wouldn't fine me unless I failed to correct the issue in a timely fashion.
This guy interfered with a government frequency, and the FCC ruled that he did it on purpose. I hate it for him, but don't blame the FCC one bit (unless I missed something in the article). The FCC enforcement guys exist for situations like this. They may reduce the fine if he can show hardship, but I doubt seriously that they will reverse the NAL. They're used to excuses, and their BS stamp is usually final.