Two New York lawyers of color are facing the possibility of life in prison after being federally charged for throwing a Molotov cocktail at an empty police car, reports HuffPost.

Colinford King Mattis and Urooj Rahman attended a Brooklyn protest on May 30 following the killing of George Floyd. Video surveillance caught Rahman exiting a tan Chrysler minivan, lighting a fuse attached to a Budweiser beer bottle and throwing it into the window of a police car. Rahman then climbed back into the vehicle, which was being driven by Mattis, and fled the scene, according to The New York Times.


The two are now being charged with causing damage by fire and explosives to a police vehicle. Their seven charges, including arson, arson conspiracy and civil disorder, are being filed federally because their target was a law enforcement vehicle, Zachary Carter, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District during President Bill Clinton’s administration, told Gothamist.

“It is because it is a police car that is operated by a jurisdiction that receives federal funding,” he said.

In addition to facing charges, the two lawyers are also being held without the option to be released on bail.

Following their initial arrest, Mattis — a 32-year old Princeton University and New York University law school graduate — and Rahman — a 31-year old Fordham Law graduate — went before Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. Gold decided the two could be released with electronic monitoring, but federal prosecutors appealed the decision, stating the two were a threat to society and flight risks. District Judge Margo K. Brodie then reviewed the case and agreed with the initial decision. They were released on a $250,000 bond and were restricted to home confinement and monitoring, according to HuffPost.

Once they were released, the government filed a notice of appeal. An emergency stay of the court’s decision was sought, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that Mattis and Rahman were a continual danger to society — so the two were apprehended again and taken back to the Metropolitan Detention Center. Two of the three judges who made the decision, Judge Michael H. Park and Judge William J. Nardini, were appointed by President Donald Trump.

Lawyers say the two are not a threat to society or a flight risk and should not be awaiting trial while sitting in jail.

More than 850 letters have been written to express concern with the aggressive charges filed against Mattis and Rahman. A petition has garnered over 650 signatures from students and faculty of Fordham Law School.

“We believe that the Department of Justice’s prosecution and efforts to incarcerate Urooj and Colin are a gross overreach of federal law enforcement power, and an attempt to stifle and delegitimize dissent against police brutality,” they wrote.

Richard Donoghue, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said that by “firebombing” a police car the pair “risked the safety of others” who were in the area, according to Gothamist.

Donoghue accused Rahman and Mattis of planning the act in advance and of having materials in the car to create more Molotov cocktails. Donoghue believes they should not be released on bail because they “demonstrated a willingness to resort to violence that creates an unacceptable risk to the community.”

According to her attorneys, Rahman has “no history of violence and has lived an exemplary life characterized by service to those in need.”

Lawyers fighting for Mattis’ release say he is “a single father of three young children who has no criminal history, holds degrees from Princeton and NYU, and has worked at two of the city’s largest law firms.”

If indicted on all charges, Mattis and Rahman could face life in prison, which is escalated from the 20-year sentences they initially faced, according to New York Daily News. They have yet to enter a plea, reports CNN. 

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