A pair of Brooklyn lawyers are facing federal charges for throwing a Molotov cocktail into a New York Police Department cruiser during riots following the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Colinford Mattis, 32, a Princeton graduate and member of a New York community board, and Urooj Rahman, 31, a lawyer and Fordham alumnus who recently lost her job, were arrested and charged with attempting to damage or destroy law-enforcement vehicles on Saturday after a surveillance camera recorded the incident.
“Molotov Cocktails are violent tools of individuals looking to inflict harm and damage our city. Crimes like these are devastating to their targets and also to the protestors and their right to free speech that police are working hard to protect,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said in a Department of Justice press release. “I’m confident that the severest penalties under the law will be sought.”
Mattis was allegedly driving a van with Rahman around 1 a.m. Saturday, when she threw the Molotov cocktail at an empty NYPD car. The gasoline-filled bottle failed to ignite, and the two fled, according to the New York Daily News. The two were arrested soon after, and police reportedly found materials in the van to make an explosive.
Many were shocked to learn the two were charged as neither have been arrested before, and Rahman was described as “an angel” by her landlord.
“I can’t believe it. I’m stunned,” George Raleigh, the super of Rahman’s building, told the New York Daily News. “This kid? She’s an angel.”
“This is shocking news to me,” Andre Mitchell, president of Community Board 5 of which Mattis is also a member, said. “The allegation does surprise me because that doesn’t sound like him.”
United States Attorney Richard Donoghue expressed outrage at anyone throwing such an item at police officers.
“No rational human being can ever believe that hurling firebombs at Police Officers and vehicles is justified. The Eastern District of New York will do everything in its power to protect those who protect us all, and we will ensure that criminals who use the camouflage of lawful protest to launch violent attacks against Police Officers face justice,” he said.
Another woman, Samantha Shader, was also arrested and charged with attempting to damage or destroy law enforcement vehicles when she threw a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD car with four officers inside. That device also did not ignite.
“In sum and substance, Shader admitted to possessing the Molotov cocktail and throwing it at the NYPD vehicle,” an FBI affidavit stated.
Mattis, Rahman, and Shader all face minimum sentences of five years and maximum sentences of 20 years.
