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Allegheny County Resident Pleads Guilty To Destroying Police Vehicle At Racial Justice Protest

Reporter Pulled From Protests
Keith Srakocic
/
AP
FILE - In this Saturday, May 30, 2020, file photo, demonstrators raise fists in the air during a march in Pittsburgh to protest the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.

Nearly a year after a police car was destroyed during a racial justice protest in downtown Pittsburgh, a man pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday.

Four people lit a police car on fire at a Pittsburgh protest following the murder of George Floyd last May.

On Monday, Allegheny County resident Christopher West pleaded guilty to two counts related to the incident. Officials said another co-defendant is expected to change his plea to guilty next week. Two other suspects have not been identified yet.

Authorities said that last year, the four men climbed on the roof of the police car, jumped up and down on it, opened the hood of the vehicle and tried to set the engine on fire. When that wasn't successful, they tossed paper and crumpled cardboard inside the car and lit it on fire.

The charges in this case could carry a sentence of ten years in prison, a $500,000 fine, or both.