United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the guilty plea of Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 23, to one count of conspiracy to commit arson at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct during the unrest following the death of George Floyd in May.
According to the his guilty plea and documents filed with the court, on the night of May 28, 2020, Robinson went to the Third Precinct where a crowd of hundreds had gathered. At one point, the crowd began shouting, “Burn it down, burn it down.” Soon after, a fence that was designed to keep trespassers out of the Third Precinct building was torn down. Robinson, along with other co-conspirators, breached the fence and entered the Third Precinct building. Robinson, assisted by an unidentified co-conspirator, lit a device held by the unidentified co-conspirator who threw it toward the Third Precinct building with the intent that it would start a fire or fuel an existing fire.
On November 19, 2020, co-conspirator Bryce Michael Williams plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson for his role in the arson at the Third Precinct building.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the ATF, the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs and David P. Steinkamp.
