In the wake of New York City George Floyd protests, three New Yorkers were indicted Friday on federal explosives and arson charges for tossing Molotov cocktails at NYPD vehicles during those riots.
Brooklyn lawyers Urooj Rahman, 31, and Colinford Mattis, 32, and Samantha Johanna Shader, 27, of Catskill, were arrested and indicted for behavior during these protests.
Shader was charged with throwing a makeshift explosive at an NYPD vehicle occupied by four police officers on early Saturday morning, May 30. This was caught on video, which is posted below.
Shader’s explosive did not ignite, so the officers were not injured. FBI says it shattered two windows of an NYPD vehicle and damaged the vehicle.
Officials detailed that Shader has been arrested in eleven different states.
Rahman and Mattis were charged with throwing Molotov cocktails at an unoccupied police vehicle in Brooklyn during a separate attack.
Mattis, who was on furlough from Pryor Cashman before his arrest, has been suspended.
“Such criminal acts should never be confused with legitimate protest,” said United States Attorney Richard Donoghue in a statement. “Those who carry out attacks on NYPD Officers or vehicles are not protesters, they are criminals, and they will be treated as such.”
No police were hurt by the explosives.
Rahman and Mattis set an empty parked police vehicle ablaze.
