Two men from St. Paul, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to arson charges at a Minnesota police station during protests against George Floyd last May, according to the Justice Department.
The men, Davon De-Andre Turner, 25, and Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit arson. Turner entered his confession on Friday, and Wolfe pleaded guilty on December 22.
US Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced the two appeals on Friday.
Wolfe’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 22, while Turner’s hearing will take place on May 13.
The Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct was where the officers involved in Floyd’s death worked at the time. Since then, the four policemen have been criminally charged and Minneapolis has enacted changes to help create more police accountability.
In late May 2020, images of passersby posted on the internet showed former police officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd said he was unable to breathe during the incident, but Chauvin continued to hold his knee against his neck for several minutes. Floyd then stopped responding and was pronounced dead shortly after.
His death sparked protests across the country that lasted until the summer of 2020, including in the state of Minnesota.
Both Turner and Wolfe were among the crowd of protesters outside the police station on the night of May 28, when the crowd started shouting “Burn out”.
After the fence erected around the perimeter of the police station was demolished, Turner, along with co-defendant Bryce Michael Williams, reportedly took an incendiary device to the police station and started a fire. Shortly thereafter, Wolfe pushed a barrel to a burning fire at a second location inside the police station, which he admitted he did with the intention of speeding up the flames, says a Justice Department document.
Williams and Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, another man who was allegedly involved, were previously accused of their roles.
Chauvin faces charges of manslaughter and manslaughter, for which he is due to start the trial on March 8.
The other three officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, will be tried on August 23.