Federal authorities on Tuesday charged a 23-year-old Brainerd-area man in connection with burning down the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct building amid rioting over the May 25 police killing of George Floyd.
Feds charge 23-year-old Brainerd-area man with helping to burn down Minneapolis Third Precinct building
Dylan Shakespeare Robinson was arrested Sunday in Colorado.
June 17, 2020 at 10:09AM
Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 23, made his first appearance in federal court in Colorado, two days after being arrested in Breckenridge, Colo., as he traveled west along Interstate 70.
Robinson — identified as having grown up in the Brainerd area and currently serving a probation sentence for drug possession — was recorded by security cameras tossing incendiary devices at the Third Precinct building the night it burned, according to a federal criminal complaint. A Facebook video also showed Robinson setting a fire just outside the first-floor stairwell on the building's west side, the complaint said.
Robinson is charged with two felonies related to aiding and abetting arson. His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday in Colorado. An attorney representing Robinson was not immediately available.
According to the federal criminal complaint affidavit sworn by an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Robinson also posted footage on Snapchat of himself and others trying to make Molotov cocktails near the precinct building.
At one point in the comments section of the video, Robinson posted, "These guys have never made a Molotov," and called them "Rookies," the complaint said. When another Snapchat user commented that the group should siphon gasoline for the devices, the charging document said, Robinson replied, "Got it covered."
According to charges, investigators scoured publicly available social media accounts, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok in the days after the Third Precinct building — and numerous others — were damaged or destroyed by fires as unrest raged across the Twin Cities following Floyd's death.
A day after the ATF publicly released photos of suspects involved in the fires, a woman who said her son had attended Pillager Area Charter School with Robinson identified the man in one of the photos. The ATF says she also provided a link to Robinson's Facebook account and told agents that he was also responsible for the fire that destroyed an AutoZone store near the Third Precinct.
Agents also used cellphone data to trace Robinson near the Third Precinct building the night of May 28 and into the early morning of May 29. They later tracked him to the Denver area.
Robinson's arrest is the latest in an ongoing federal law enforcement probe of scores of fires set around the Twin Cities after Floyd's death. On Monday, federal authorities announced a $70,000 reward for help identifying, arresting and prosecuting the suspects involved. William Henderson, special agent in charge of the ATF's St. Paul field division, said that authorities have "narrowed in on particular individuals who we suspect started one or more fires throughout the Twin Cities."
The photos showed eight locations damaged by arson.
Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
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