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Lawyers Plead Guilty To Molotov Cocktail Attack On NYPD Vehicle During George Floyd Protests
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 21, 2021
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U.S. Attorney's Office
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 21, 2021
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Two Brooklyn lawyers who were charged with firebombing an NYPD vehicle during the George Floyd protests last year have each pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a destructive device.
Urooj Rahman, 32, and Colinford Mattis, 34, were arrested on May 30, 2020 in Brooklyn. According to federal prosecutors, Mattis drove a minivan during a night of fevered protests, while Rahman left the car to throw a lit Molotov cocktail at an unoccupied NYPD van in Fort Greene. No one was hurt.
In an interview before she was arrested, Rahman said that they were targeting police precincts. "People are angry because the police are never held accountable. This has got to stop. And the only way they hear, the only way they hear us is through violence, through the means that they use."
Prosecutors said that other items that could be used to make Molotov cocktails were found with the pair, including gasoline and a beer bottle filled with toilet paper.
A photo taken by a witness allegedly shows Urooj Rahman holding a Molotov cocktail in the front seat of a car driven by Colinford Mattis.
Handout
Mattis, who grew up in East New York and attended Princeton and NYU Law School, had worked at law firm Pryor Cashman's corporate practice but was furloughed during the pandemic. He reportedly had been caring for three young foster children his mother had been taking care of until her death in 2019.
When he pleaded guilty, Mattis said, "I deeply regret my conduct and wish I had made better choices on that night."
Rahman, a Pakistani immigrant who grew up in Bay Ridge before attending Fordham University and Fordham Law School, had been working at Bronx Legal Services. During her plea, Rahman told U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan that her actions "occurred on a night of civil protest in Brooklyn following the murder of George Floyd. I deeply regret my actions."
The guilty pleas also mean they will be disbarred.
Mattis and Rahman will be sentenced on February 8, 2022, and the U.S. Attorney's office is pursuing a "terrorism enhancement" in their sentencing recommendation.
Rachel Barkow, an NYU Law School professor who taught Mattis, wrote an op-ed in the Daily News arguing that the terrorism enhancement was a Trump administration tactic that's inappropriate in this instance.
"In this case, the enhancement could mean a 10-year sentence for Mattis and Rahman despite the fact that neither have any criminal record, no one was hurt, and neither had any intent to hurt anyone through their actions. Theirs is a case of property damage to an abandoned police vehicle that should have never been a federal case in the first place."
Reuters reports that Judge Cogan admitted, "The terrorism enhancement is going to be a big issue. I have no idea where I’m going to come out on that."
Tagged
social justice
George Floyd
brooklyn
molotov cocktail
protests
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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