Man sentenced to 4 years in prison for burning of police station at Floyd protest
23-year-old Dylan Shakespeare Robinson was also ordered to pay $12 million in restitution for his role in setting the fire.
A 23-year-old has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in burning a police station during a protest calling for justice for George Floyd.
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The New York Times reported Dylan Shakespeare Robinson has also been ordered two years of supervised release and to pay $12 million in restitution. Robinson pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. Three other men also pleaded guilty to participating in the burning of the police building. According to the office of Anders Folk, acting U.S. attorney in the District of Minnesota, they will be sentenced at a later date.
He is bearing the sentence for the other thousand people who participated,” said Robinson’s lawyer William J. Mauzy to the news outlet. “Many others, far more culpable than Mr. Robinson, were not identified. He had no role in throwing any Molotov cocktails or constructing any or building any.”
Federal officials said surveillance video showed Robinson as he “appears to light an incendiary device.” According to the complaint, he also set a fire inside the police station, near a first-floor stairwell.
The investigation also used evidence from Snapchat where an unidentified female voice can be heard saying ‘Dylan,’ and later the same night, that account typed “We need gasoline” in the comments of a video. According to the Times, officials identified nearly four dozen separate places of origin for the fire.
“That’s a lot of different people setting fires at various spots in a police station,” Mauzy said. “Mr. Robinson was unfortunately one of the few who was captured on video and identified.”
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Protestors across the country have been arrested for demonstrating for Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other victims of police violence. The Washington Post reported The New York Police Department made several arrests during last summer’s protests in violation of state law. A lawsuit was filed on April 14 in the New York Supreme Court seeking a judicial order mandating NYPD comply with a modified New York law. The law requires police to issue appearance tickets when an eligible misdemeanor, violation, or low-level felony is the suspected offense, not arrest.
“Despite the law’s clear mandate to issue appearance tickets, the NYPD unlawfully arrested, handcuffed, and in some instances physically brutalized the Plaintiffs,” the civil complaint said, according to the Post. The plaintiffs were allegedly handcuffed and taken to “overcrowded, filthy, and overheated” facilities where COVID-19 protocol was ignored.
“We will review the lawsuit if and when we are served,” Sgt. Edward D. Riley said in a statement.
Although the police used force in most arrests, some protestors do not regret their actions. Coricia Campbell was arrested and due to her detainment, missed an important surgery. Still, she tells TIME, when former officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder, her actions felt significant.
“It was all worth it,” says Campbell, 32, who lives in Jacksonville. “It’s restoring my faith in the justice system.”
Ellen Urbani, a 52-year-old who joined protests in Portland, Oregon, shared similar feelings. She was injured during the demonstrations and left with two broken bones.
“Everything we marched for, we just learned what the outcome was,” she said to TIME. “This is what we were all standing for.”
Shantania Love, a 30-year-old mother of two, was blinded at a protest in Oak Park, California, after a rubber bullet allegedly wounded her eye as she walked away from law enforcement.
“It’s a sigh of relief that finally we get a little bit of justice, and what we were out there doing, protesting, wasn’t done for no reason,” Love said to TIME. “I’m not blind for nothing.”
theGrio reported Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges in the murder of George Floyd on April 20 after the sequestered jurors deliberated for four hours on April 19 and resumed on Tuesday. Chauvin’s trial began on March 29 with opening statements from the state and defense. The prosecution called 38 witnesses and experts, which took 11 days to demonstrate that Chauvin’s actions led to Floyd’s death.
According to sentencing guidelines, Chauvin faces up to 12 and a half years on either second-degree unintentional murder or third-degree murder. Second-degree manslaughter has a maximum four-year sentence. Aggravating factors could determine a longer sentence of up to 40 years.
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