The 22-year-old suspect was captured Sunday in Colorado.
June 17, 2020, 1:25 PM
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Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleA man has been arrested and charged for his alleged role in setting fire to the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct amid citywide protests over the death of George Floyd.
Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 22, of Brainerd, Minnesota, was located by federal investigators in the Denver area on June 12 and was captured two days later in Breckenridge, Colorado. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota announced Tuesday a federal criminal complaint against Robinson, charging him with aiding and abetting arson.
On the night of May 28, three days after Floyd died in police custody, the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct was overrun and heavily damaged from vandalism and arson. The building, which police had abandoned, went up in flames after a group of protesters pushed through barriers and smashed windows. Authorities subsequently determined that multiple separate fires had been started inside the building, according to the complaint.
Protesters cheer as the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct burns behind them in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 28, 2020. As civil unrest unfolded in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd, police were forced to abandon the precinct building, allowing protesters to set fire to it.
Protesters cheer as the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct burns behind them in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 28, 2020. As civil unrest unfolded in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd, police were forced to abandon the precinct building, allowing protesters to set fire to it.Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesSurveillance video from the Third Precinct shows two individuals ignite a petrol bomb and lob it at the building. One of the individuals can be seen throwing a second one at the building. Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were later able to identify Robinson in the footage, according to the complaint.
The investigators reviewed a video allegedly posted on Robinson's Snapchat account that shows at least one individual appearing to make a Molotov cocktail while multiple unidentified voices provide directions on how to make the crude explosive device. Robinson allegedly posted several comments during the Snapchat video, including, "These guys have never made a Molotov," "Rookies" and "We need gasoline," according to the complaint.
Investigators reviewed another Snapchat video in which Robinson can allegedly be seen setting fire in a stairwell within the Third Precinct, according to the complaint.
Flames from a nearby fire illuminate protesters standing on a barricade in front of the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 28, 2020. The precinct building went up in flames on the third day of demonstrations over the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The precinct, which police had abandoned, burned after a group of protesters pushed through barriers around the building, breaking windows and chanting slogans.
Flames from a nearby fire illuminate protesters standing on a barricade in front of the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 28, 2020. The precinct building went up in flames on the third day of demonstrations over the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The precinct, which police had abandoned, burned after a group of protesters pushed through barriers around the building, breaking windows and chanting slogans.Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty ImagesRobinson made his initial appearance before a judge at the U.S. District Court in Denver on Tuesday. ABC News was unable to find contact information for Robinson, and it was unclear whether he had obtained a lawyer.
Protests, some ending in violence, erupted in Minneapolis following the May 25 death of Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man who died shortly after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck as three other officers stood by. Demonstrations calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice have now spread across the nation and abroad.
The officer who prosecutors say pinned Floyd down for nearly nine minutes, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers each have been charged with second-degree aiding and abetting felony murder as well as second-degree aiding and abetting manslaughter.
