Black Lives Matter rioter Desmond David-Pitts has been formally charged in connection with an incident in which protesters attempted to burn down the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct after using quick-seal cement to try and lock the police inside a burning building.
Desmond David-Pitts, 19, from Alaska, was charged with arson during a hearing in federal court in which he appeared via video conferencing, as federal charges begin stacking up for Seattle far-left rioters.
David-Pitts, who was identified in videos because of the pink camouflage trousers he was wearing during the attack, is facing a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
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KOMO News report: The judge declined to set bond for David-Pitts, who is scheduled to appear next in court on Sept. 1. He is the fourth person to face charges after the fire incident Monday at the police building.
“Those who go to protest but choose violence and criminal acts over protected speech will face the full weight of federal criminal sanctions,” U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said in a written statement. “This illegal conduct must end.”
A police spokesperson told KOMO News earlier in the week that protesters were deliberate in their efforts to trap officers inside the East Precinct building Monday night before setting fires.
Police surveillance video from the precinct building shows rioters setting fires around the complex, after trying to cement the door shut, while several officers were inside.
“The intentional fire set Monday evening in an organized, pre-planned attack endangered the lives of our officers and our entire community,” said police Chief Carmen Best in a statement. “This was not a peaceful protest, or demonstration for equity, but an act of lawlessness.”
Federal law enforcement authorities said David-Ptts arrived in Seattle three days before the protest. After marching with the group in downtown, he was seen on video compiling trash and repeatedly lighting it on fire and feeding the blaze with more combustible materials over an 11-minute time frame captured on camera, federal officials said.
Officials said he has no known record of prior charges in Washington state. His younger brother was shot and killed by police in Alaska in February, according to a report in the Anchorage Daily News.
Law enforcement officials said others captured on the surveillance video were seen using crowbars and cement-like materials to try to disable the door next to the sally-port to prevent officers from exiting the building. David-Pitts was identified less than an hour later in the crowd because of the pink camouflage pants he was wearing, authorities said,
He was taken into custody without incident.
