Who is Supporting two NY Attorneys Indicted in Connection with Molotov Cocktail Attacks on NYPD Vehicles?
Two Brooklyn Residents and a Greene County Resident Indicted in Connection with Molotov Cocktail Attacks on NYPD Vehicles
19 June DOJ
Two indictments were returned yesterday in federal court in Central Islip, New York, charging Samantha Shader, and co-defendants Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman in connection with their alleged attempts to use improvised incendiary devices, commonly known as “Molotov Cocktails,” to damage and destroy New York City Police Department vehicles during protests this past month.
The seven-count indictments each charge the defendants with the use of explosives, arson, use of explosives to commit a felony, arson conspiracy, use of a destructive device, civil disorder, and making or possessing a destructive device.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.
“Amid largely peaceful demonstrations taking place on the night of May 29, 2020, these defendants allegedly hurled Molotov Cocktails at NYPD vehicles without regard for the potentially deadly consequences,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Such criminal acts should never be confused with legitimate protest. Those who carry out attacks on NYPD Officers or vehicles are not protesters, they are criminals, and they will be treated as such.”
“A little more than a week after their arrests, Shader, Mattis, and Rahman have been charged with seven-count indictments in response to their potentially deadly attacks. Their criminal behavior risked lives, destroyed equipment that exists to serve the community, siphoned response resources, and created a threat to those who had every right to safely assemble and express their opinion,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
“Violence, like that alleged here, not only endangers our NYPD officers but threatens the constitutional right of people to peacefully protest. These indictments by our federal partners reflect our joint condemnation of the kind of isolated acts a just society can never tolerate,” stated NYPD Commissioner Shea.
As detailed in court filings in the case against Mattis and Rahman, an NYPD surveillance camera recorded Rahman tossing a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD vehicle parked near the 88th Precinct in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, then fleeing in a tan minivan. Police Officers pursued the minivan and arrested Rahman and Mattis, who was the vehicle’s driver. In the vehicle, the NYPD found several component items for Molotov Cocktails, including a lighter, a bottle filled with liquid suspected to be gasoline and toilet paper, additional bottles and toilet paper, and a gasoline canister.
As detailed in court filings in the case against Shader, a video recorded by a witness captured her igniting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at an NYPD vehicle occupied by four police officers, shattering two of its windows. Police officers pursued Shader as she attempted to flee and apprehended her at the scene.
The charges in the indictments are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted on all counts, the defendants face sentences of up to life imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ian C. Richardson and Jonathan Algor are in charge of the prosecution.
Investigative Project which has been on the case reports in the following article that the support for the two defendants is incredible.
“Who is Supporting Molotov-Tossing Attorney Urooj Rahman?”
IPT News
Outraged reactions from Islamist, Arab American, and Palestinian organizations have emerged since the May 30 arrest of Urooj Rahman and Colinford Mattis during a violent protest in New York City.
A picture included in court papers shows Rahman brandishing a Molotov cocktail in one hand while using a Palestinian keffiyeh to cover the lower part of her face with the other hand .
Rahman and Mattis were arrested after a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the broken window of a police car. Rahman was seen throwing the incendiary device, police say, while Mattis drove away from the scene. Other charges involve gathering gasoline and other materials required to construct Molotov cocktails, and encouraging others to do so.
This took place at what was supposed to be a peaceful protest in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.The organizations’ defense of the pair claims that the charges against Rahman and Mattis are motivated by racism and “structural Islamophobia.”But neither Rahman nor Mattis were arrested for anything they said, or for simply being present during a protest. The charges, it must be stressed, specifically refer to their violent actions that night and their possession of additional incendiary materials.
According to the original complaint, “Video surveillance from the NYPD’s 88th Precinct” showed Rahman get out of a tan minivan, light a Molotov cocktail, and then throw it into a police car. They also “sought to incite others to launch similar attacks and attempted to distribute other Molotov cocktails to other protestors in furtherance of this objective.” Rahman then got back in the van with Mattis, who drove away.”They conducted this improvised incendiary device attack in close proximity to other individuals on the street, placing those individuals in grave danger,” the court documents state.
“With that attack complete, Mattis acted as the getaway driver for Rahman, as the two sought to escape the scene and avoid arrest.”Police followed the van and stopped it moments later, leading to the arrests. Rahman and Mattis were subsequently indicted on seven federal counts, including use of explosives, arson, arson conspiracy, use of a destructive device, civil disorder, and making or possessing a destructive device. If convicted, each could face life imprisonment and be disbarred.The Center for Constitutional Rights denounced the fact that the two initially were held without bail and demanded “the excessive and politically motivated charges against them be dropped.”
A group of 56 former prosecutors joined anamicusbrief June 16 in support of an appeal to get the pair released on bail pending trial. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled for Rahman and Mattis on June 30. But in doing so, the court undercut the broader argument – that the charges are somehow excessive of politically-driven.
“There is no question that the evidence before the district court demonstrated that the crimes charged are serious and the defendants’ conduct on the night of their arrests could well have resulted in significantly more harm than it did,” wrote Judge Peter Hall. “By affirming the district court’s order to release the defendants on the conditions imposed, we do not seek to minimize the severity of the offense.”Still, a letter from the “Fordham Law Community” similarly calls on the government to “drop these politically motivated charges.”
Letter organizer Leena Widdi, like Rahman, is a Fordham Law graduate and longtime activist for the Palestinian cause. Her professional biography describes her as a founder of Within Our Lifetime: United for Palestine, a “Palestinian-led community organization whose goal is to revitalize the revolutionary spirit of the Palestinian diaspora to complement the resistance in Palestine in pursuit of a free homeland.” Widdi also was a member of the pro-BDS SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) at Fordham. She was arrested in 2012 for vandalizing a controversial pro-Israel poster in the New York City subway.Another letter backing Rahman and Mattis came from the “NYU Law Community,” which dismisses the prosecution as a “gross overreach of federal law enforcement power and an attempt to stifle and delegitimize dissent against police brutality.”
For the rest of the report from IPT visit the website.
The Defendants: Main PHOTO IN COURT PAPERS VIA IPT ABOVE
COLINFORD MATTIS
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York
UROOJ RAHMAN
Age: 31
Brooklyn, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-203 (BMC)
SAMANTHA SHADER
Age: 27
Catskill, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-202 (DLI)
Case 1:20-cr-00203-BMC
Document 21
Filed 06/11/20
Page 1 of 7 PageID #: 41
RMT:ICR/JEA F. #2020R00508
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ————- — – – – – – – – – – – – – )(
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA -against-
COLINFORD MATTIS and UROOJ RAHMAN,
Defendants.
– – —– – – – – – – —- — — – —–)( THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
COUNT ONE (Use ofExplosives)
FIL eD
IN CLERK’S OFFIC!
U.S. District COURT e.o.N.V,
1. On or about May 30, 2020, within the Eastern District ofNew York, the defendants COLINFORD MATTIS and UROOJ RAHMAN, together with others, did knowingly, intentionally and maliciously damage and destroy, and attempt to damage and destroy, by means of fire and an explosive, a vehicle and other personal and real property, to wit: a New York City Police Department vehicle, in whole and in part owned and possessed by and leased to, an institution and organization receiving Federal financial assistance, to wit: the New York City Police Department and New York City government. Download the full complaint