A pair of New York lawyers who pleaded guilty to firebombing an empty police car during protests over the death of George Floyd in 2020 were disbarred by state attorney regulators this week.
New York’s Appellate Division on Tuesday ruled that Colinford Mattis, 34, and 33-year-old Urooj Rahman’s guilty pleas constituted an automatic disbarment provision. While the court order was released on Tuesday, it states the disbarment is retroactively dated to June 2, when the pair admitted in Brooklyn federal court to conspiracy to commit arson and possession of a Molotov cocktail explosive device that was thrown at the empty police vehicle.
Both lawyers told U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in June they understood the guilty plea would nix their licenses to practice law.
“I wish I had made different and better choices that night,” Mattis told the judge. Rahman also expressed regret for her actions.
TWO LAWYERS HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES FOR THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAIL AT NYPD CAR
Rahman’s legal counsel in September asked for a commutation of her sentence, claiming she was intoxicated the night of the firebombing incident and undergoing “unprocessed trauma” tied to “abusive partnership relationships.” She also claimed she suffered from more long-standing trauma for being taunted as a Muslim after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The pair’s plea deal was also part of a negotiation to reduce their possible 10-year sentences down to roughly 18- to 24-month terms.
Rahman and Mattis initially faced federal charges amounting to 45 years in prison under former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, which sought to enforce tough-on-crime policies. Prosecutors later offered plea deals under President Joe Biden‘s administration, which has emphasized reforming the criminal justice system.
Prosecutors said last month the 18- to 24-months recommendations reflected the actual “nature and circumstances of the offense and the histories and personal characteristics of these defendants.”
The pair attended a May 2020 protest in Brooklyn, one of many national demonstrations over the death of Floyd, who was killed after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. Rahman threw a bottle filled with gasoline through the window of an already-broken police car window and fled in a minivan driven by Mattis, according to court records.
“Bring it to their neck,” Mattis sent in a text message to Rahman before sharing the location of the New York City Police Department headquarters. “Molotovs rollin’,” Rahman wrote back. “I hope they burn everything down. Need to burn all police stations down and probably the courts too.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
As part of the plea deal, they each agreed to pay $30,137 in restitution to New York City.
Rahman was a public interest attorney in the Bronx, while Mattis worked as an associate at a law firm near Times Square. Both were suspended from their work following the 2020 arrest.
