Two men from St. Paul, Minn., Pleaded guilty to charges of arson at a Minnesota police station during the George Floyd protests, according to the Department of Justice.
The men, 25-year-old Davon De-Andre Turner and Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, each pleaded guilty to one conspiracy to commit arson. Turner filed his lawsuit Friday, and Wolfe pleaded guilty on Dec. 22.
U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced both pleas Friday.
Wolfe’s sentencing is scheduled for April 22, while Turner will take place on May 13.
The Third District of Minneapolis Police Department, where the officers involved in Floyd’s death at the time worked. Since then, the four law enforcement officers have been criminally charged, and Minneapolis has introduced changes to create more responsibility for officers.
In late May 2020, bystanders who appeared on the Internet pointed to former police officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd said he could not breathe during the incident, but Chauvin held his knee for several minutes. Floyd then did not respond and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
His death sparked nationwide protests that lasted through the summer of 2020, including in the state of Minnesota.
Both Turner and Wolfe were among the crowd of protesters outside the district on the night of May 28, when the crowd began singing ‘Burn It’.
After the fence erected around the perimeter of the district was demolished, Turner allegedly, along with co-accused Bryce Michael Williams, took a fuel device to the station and started a fire. Shortly afterwards, Wolfe lit a barrel in a fire that was lit in a second place inside the district, which he admitted he did with the aim of speeding up the flames, reads a document from the Department of Justice. .
Williams and Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, another man allegedly involved, were earlier charged with their roles.
Chauvin is facing charges of murder and manslaughter, for which he will be tried on March 8.
The other three officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, will stand trial on August 23.