A man from Illinois traveled to Minneapolis over the weekend to riot, and live-streamed himself giving explosives to others, damaging property, and allegedly setting a Sprint store ablaze, based on charges that were filed in the US District Court of Minnesota on Monday.
Matthew Lee Rupert, 28, has been charged with civil disorder, possession of unregistered explosives, and taking part in and organizing riots, according to Star Tribune.
This makes Rupert the first person to face federal prosecution for allegedly taking part in the burning, looting, and other violence that saw the Twin Cities destroyed after the death of George Floyd.
Rupert posted on his public Facebook page an invitation for "goons" to get together with him in traveling to Minneapolis, where he mentioned that he was going to rent hotel rooms and planned to wreak havoc and "take hella good videos."
The live-streamed videos were cited as evidence by FBI investigators in the complaint, which depict Rupert distributing explosives and announcing, "He's throwing my bombs... they're going to bomb the police with them."
Rupert shouted, "Good shot, my boy," after one of the explosives went off. He later declared that "We came here to riot."
Rupert later requested lighter fluid before entering the Sprint store, according to the complaint. He said, "I lit it on fire," before moving over to an Office Depot and stealing products from it.
Several people commented on his video that had been viewed more than 4,000 times, criticizing the behavior.
One person wrote: "If writing a bad check gets you killed, how do you think this guy will end up," referring to the reason why Floyd was arrested and eventually killed.
"Nothing like snitching on yourself like a Facebook live video," another person wrote.
Rupert responded to the criticisms by saying, "I love all my haters lmao."
Saturday night, Rupert posted to Facebook again, this time speaking of plans to return to Chicago to riot. "[Let me know] who's on board I got two cars we got this," he wrote.
Other videos show Rupert walking through Chicago, yelling at people he appears to know as they drive by. One 10-minute video shows Rupert stopping in front of a dark building that looks like a cafe with a broken window.
"There's gotta be a register in there," he says. After he spotted one, he told someone else to go in after it. A person jumped through the broken window to retrieve it before moving on.
More video shows him saying, "Let's start a riot!" and "I'm going to start doing some damage," according to the complaint.
Rupert's violation have become a federal crime because he crossed state lines to take part in a riot. The Chicago police arrested him at 2:21 a.m. They searched his car and found several "destructive devices," along with a flashlight, hammer, and cash, according to the charges.
During a telephonic hearing on Monday afternoon, a judge ordered Rupert be transferred to Minnesota to face future case proceedings. Rupert appeared shocked when the judge read his charges that related to illegal explosives.
"A firework? I don't know, ma'am," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Minnesota US Attorney's Office said that although it will pursue charges against rioters, their primary focus will continue to be on the civil rights investigation surrounding the unjust death of Floyd.
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