A BLM rioter who threw a molotov cocktail at a police car during the George Floyd riots got the book from a federal judge. Samantha Shader was found guilty of attempting to set fire to a New York City Police Department (NYPD) vehicle that was carrying four police officers in Brooklyn on the evening of May 29, 2020, and was given a 72-month prison term by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry.
“I want to apologize to everybody. I want to apologize to the police…I apologize to my family/ I wish I could take this back. What I did was wrong and disrespectful. I hope you can forgive me. And everyone else there. I have no excuse for what I did. So I’m not gonna try to make any. I am grateful for where I am right now in life.”
According to Judge Dora Irizarry, what she did might have been fatal. The protesters’ lives, as well as the lives of the four officers, were at danger. The car was fuel-powered. It might have blown up.
In April 2022, Shader entered a guilty plea to the charge.
The right to peaceful protest, which is guaranteed by the constitution, is a fundamental democratic principle, according to Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Throughout the history of this country, protests have sparked a number of great developments. However, hurling a potentially lethal object at a protesting NYPD van with four policemen inside was unacceptable and hazardous, putting the cops and all present in danger.
“Today, Ms. Shader learned the consequences for choosing to engage in violent criminal actions. Malicious actors who wish to bring mayhem to our community – and those who dutifully serve to protect it – will be held accountable for their behavior by the FBI and our law enforcement partners,” stated Michael J. Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI.
