Two Brooklyn lawyers have pleaded guilty to one count each of possession of a destructive device after they threw a molotov cocktail at an NYPD vehicle during a George Floyd protest in Brooklyn last year.
PEr NBC New York, Urooj Rahman and Colinford Mattis face up to 10 years in prison during their next hearing in February.
They were arrested on May 30, 2020, after surveillance footage showed Rahman throwing a lit molotov cocktail at an empty NYPD van in Fort Greene. No one was injured in the incident. According to prosecutors, Rahman and Mattis also had additional materials to make molotov cocktails in their minivan, like a gasoline tank, a lighter, and a beer bottle with toilet paper. Prosecutors argued that the two were going to make and toss more molotov cocktails.
Mattis had attended Princeton and New York University Law School, and Rahman had attended Fordham for undergrad and law school.
Prior to her arrest, 32-year-old Rahman explained their actions, saying, “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.”
Both said they “deeply regret” their actions that night. Their guilty pleas mean they will also be disbarred. The U.S. Attorney’s office is seeking the maximum sentence, which includes a “terrorism enhancement” because they were looking to threaten the NYPD.
