A Minnesota man was charged Tuesday with setting fire to the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct, which was overrun and razed by vandals last month at the height of the rioting during the George Floyd protests.
Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 22, of Brainerd, Minnesota, was charged with aiding and abetting arson, making his initial appearance remotely in U.S. District Court in Denver after being arrested Sunday in Breckenridge, Colorado. He faces five to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The complaint filed by U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Erica H. MacDonald said Mr. Robinson helped light a Molotov cocktail and throw it at the precinct as well as set a fire in the first-floor stairwell on the building’s west side, based on surveillance video at the scene.
After releasing photos of several suspects, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was contacted by a woman who identified Mr. Robinson as one of the vandals, saying that he had attended school with her son and that he “also did AutoZone,” referring to the fire at the car-supplies store.
Another Minnesota man, 23-year-old Branden Michael Wolfe of St. Paul, was charged June 8 with aiding and abetting arson for setting the precinct fire. Both suspects are white.
Investigators found video on Mr. Robinson’s Snapchat account showing him lighting the stairwell fire and another video showing at least one person appearing to assemble a Molotov cocktail.
“During the video, Robinson typed several comments, including, ’These guys have never made a Molotov … Rookies,’ and ’We need gasoline,’” said the press release.
The complaint also said that Mr. Robinson is on probation in Crow Wing County for Fourth Degree Possession of Phencyclidine/Hallucinogen, but that he had violated the terms of his probation.
Dylan Shakespeare Robinson appears by remote video for 1st Federal Court appearance on arson charges related to burning of Minneapolis Police Station. Media has to listen by phone. #kdvr pic.twitter.com/Bd8GuJ7ntJ
— Rob Low (@RobLowTV) June 16, 2020
The razing of the precinct building, which was evacuated May 28 by police after several nights of protests and rioting, was seen as retaliation for the May 25 death of George Floyd, who is black, as a white officer kneeled on his neck.
Four officers have been fired and face charges related to his death, which has been ruled a homicide.
The Nation, a longstanding left-wing magazine, praised the precinct vandalism in a June 12 article, calling the seizing and burning of the building “an unprecedented and beautiful moment in the annals of rebellion in this country.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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