2 Set Fire To Police SUVs During George Floyd Protests: Feds

PHILADELPHIA — Federal arson and related charges have been filed against two men accused of burning Pennsylvania State Police vehicles during the unrest in Philadelphia last summer.

Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said Ayoub Tabri, 25, of Arlington, Virginia, and Lester Fulton Smith, 26, of Philadelphia, were each charged with two counts of arson and one count of obstruction of law enforcement in connection with the arson of a Pennsylvania State Police vehicle.

Smith was arrested earlier this morning and will have his initial appearance in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts today. Tabri was arrested in October 2020 and remains in federal custody.

On May 30, 2020, state troopers responded to the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets in Philadelphia at the overpass of Interstate 676 for a report of a large gathering of protesters.

Troopers parked two SUVs at an on-ramp for I-676 near Broad and Vine Streets. Troopers were aiming to prevent protestors from getting onto I-676, according to information from federal prosecutors.

At about 3:40 p.m., a group started attacking the two state police SUVs, according to federal authorities said.

Both vehicles were locked and contained state police-issued rifles and other police equipment.

Eventually, both vehicles' windows were smashed and people stole equipment inside them, including road flares, authorities said.

Troopers reported people then threw lit road flares into one of the two vehicles, igniting a fire that engulfed that SUV.

Authorities allege it was Tabri and Smith who set the fire.

One trooper, who was standing near the burned vehicle, was hit by a lit road flare and part of his uniform caught fire. The trooper also burned his hand when he reached into the vehicle to get a rifle in an effort to prevent people from stealing it, authorities said.

Due to the fire damage to one state police SUV and the physical damage to the other, both vehicles were destroyed.

If convicted, Smith and Tabri face a mandatory minimum sentence of up to seven years in prison, a maximum possible sentence of 65 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $750,000.