MINNEAPOLIS — A Staples, Minnesota man was sentenced to two years, three months in prison by a federal judge Monday for his role in the arson at the Minneapolis Police Department's 3rd Precinct building last summer.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Bryce Michael Williams, 27, was also ordered to serve two years of supervised released and pay $12 million in restitution.
“All four defendants charged in federal court have now been sentenced for their individual roles in the burning and near total destruction of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building,” said Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk in the press release. “Mr. Williams and his co-defendants have been held accountable for their dangerous and destructive actions. I thank our federal, state, and local partners who pursued justice in these cases.”
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Williams was part of a crowd of hundreds who gathered outside the station during the civil unrest last summer following George Floyd's murder. Officials say Williams entered the Third Precinct holding a Molotov cocktail, which was used by another person to start a fire.
Williams pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2020 to one count of conspiracy to commit arson.
