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Two men from St. Paul, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to charges in a fire at a Minnesota police station during the George Floyd protests last May, according to the Department of Justice.
The men, Davon De-Andre Turner, 25, and Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. Turner pleaded Friday and Wolfe pleaded guilty on December 22.
US lawyer Erica H. MacDonald announced the two calls on Friday.
Wolfe’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 22, while Turner’s will be on May 13.
The Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Ward was where officers involved in Floyd’s death worked at the time. Since then, all four law enforcement officials have been criminally indicted and Minneapolis has passed changes to help create more accountability for officers.
In late May 2020, spectator footage posted online showed former policeman Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd said he couldn’t breathe during the incident, but Chauvin continued to keep his knee against his neck for several minutes. Floyd then became unresponsive and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
His death sparked nationwide protests that lasted until the summer of 2020, including in the state of Minnesota.
Turner and Wolfe were among the crowd of protesters outside the compound on the night of May 28, when the crowd began chanting “Burn it down.”
After the fence erected around the perimeter of the compound was demolished, Turner, along with co-accused Bryce Michael Williams, allegedly took an incendiary device at the station and started a fire. Shortly after, Wolfe pushed a barrel into a lighted fire in a second location inside the compound, which he admitted to doing with the intention of accelerating the flames, according to a ministry document. of Justice.
Williams and Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, another man allegedly involved, had previously been charged for their roles.
Chauvin faces murder and manslaughter charges, for which he is expected to begin his trial on March 8.
The three other officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, will be tried on August 23.
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