Jury convicts man in arson attack on Target headquarters in Minneapolis after false rumor of a police killing

A federal jury has convicted a man for his role in a 2020 arson attack on Target's corporate headquarters amid rioting over a false rumor that a Black man had been killed by police in Minneapolis.

Le­roy L.P. Williams, 36, of Minneapolis was found guilty of arson in connection with the blaze at the retailer's downtown main offices on Aug. 26, 2020. A sentencing date is not yet scheduled.

Williamspleaded guilty in January 2021, but later asked withdraw his plea and stand trial. Judge Patrick Schiltz granted his request last March.

Ar­son and loot­ing erupt­ed on the evening of Aug. 26, 2020, when Eddie Frank Sole Jr., 38, fa­tal­ly shot him­self on Nicollet Mall short­ly af­ter he was sus­pected of shooting and killing another man. Sole's su­i­cide sparked a false ru­mor that po­lice had killed him.

Prosecutors said Williams and co-defendants Victor D. Edwards, 34, of St. Pauland Shador T.C. Jackson, 27, of Richfield went to the Target head­quar­ters, where doz­ens of oth­ers had gath­ered and start­ed riot­ing.

Jackson was accused of using a con­struc­tion sign to break through a glass door of the build­ing. The three then went in­side, where Jackson set fire to a mailroom counter and Edwards fueled the blaze with a li­quid ac­cel­er­ant, according to the charges.

Authorities said Edwards, Jackson and Williams, along with oth­ers, fled the building, but Williams re­turned and tried to start a fire in­side its en­trance.

That same night, Edwards and Jackson stole designer purses and other items from Saks Off Fifth on Nicollet Mall, and Edwards texted acquaintances telling them about the purses. When one of the acquaintances asked why he was downtown, Edwards replied, "Lootin."

Jackson pleaded guilty to arson and was sentenced to nearly three years in prison. Edwards was convicted of arson and rioting, and given more than eight years.

All three de­fend­ants have fel­o­ny re­cords in Minnesota. Williams has been con­victed seven times for theft, twice for il­legal pos­ses­sion of a fire­arm in public and once each for bur­gla­ry and re­ceiv­ing sto­len prop­er­ty. Jackson has con­vic­tions for se­cond-de­gree as­sault and drug pos­ses­sion. Edwards was con­victed in 2016 in Hennepin County for third-de­gree crim­i­nal sex­ual con­duct. He's also been con­victed of theft, drug pos­ses­sion and child en­dan­ger­ment.