Protester Faces Riot Charge After Return From Minneapolis: Lawyer

Update June 18: A federal prosecutor has asked a judge to dismiss the charges for rioting and incitement against Mike Avery, the St. Louis American reports.

The original story continues below:

ST. LOUIS, MO — A St. Louis man who livestreamed his own arrest hours after returning from Minneapolis is facing a federal charge for inciting a riot, his lawyer told Patch on Tuesday.

Mike Avery, 28, "is in good spirits, he's optimistic, he knows he has a lot of support," said attorney Marlene Suarez. She added that she had not yet seen details of why the FBI arrested her client in the early afternoon on Sunday. She said Avery would plead not guilty.

But though the FBI affidavit filed with the riot charge remained sealed Tuesday pending Avery's first appearance in court, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported details of the charging document, which points to a Friday Facebook post from Avery that was addressed to "ALL THE SHOOTERS, ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DONT GIVE AF."

But it was the phrase "RED ACTION" that got the FBI's attention, as the words are "associated with a high level of violence," the Post-Dispatch reported.

The full Facebook post, which remains on Avery's account, reads:

"Anybody in STL interested in being apart of a level RED ACTION AND CAN BE AVAILABLE SATURDAY NIGHT PLEASE INBOX ME BEFORE I LEAVE MN. PLS SHARE THIS POST WIDELY, CALLING OUT ALL THE SHOOTERS, ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DONT GIVE AF. ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAS HAD ENOUGH. AND IF IK THAT THIS ISNT THE TYPE OF ACTION FOR YOU, I WILL NOT RESPOND TO YOUR INBOX CAUSE THIS NOT FOR YOU. SHARE, SHARE, SHARE."

Avery appeared to be unaware of the reason for his arrest on Sunday. In a Facebook Live video, he can be heard speaking with armed law enforcement officers — who are shown wearing tactical gear but not police uniforms — and at one point stating, "I didn't do anything but voice my damn opinion."

Avery had spent time in Minneapolis last week as protests exploded after video of a white Minneapolis police officer — now charged with murder — who used his knee to pin the neck of George Floyd to the pavement on May 25.

Avery was supposed to make his first appearance in court Tuesday, but Suarez said her client's hearing, along with all others scheduled Tuesday, was canceled in the aftermath of four St. Louis police officers being shot during the previous night's protests. The delay means he will remain in custody without a bond.

"He's a single father of a four-year-old daughter," Suarez said. "He's worried about his parents. Otherwise he's in amazingly good spirits."