By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two New York lawyers charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail at an empty city police car during protests over George Floyd’s death are expected to plead guilty to new charges on Thursday, part of a deal in which prosecutors will recommend shorter sentences.
Urooj Rahman and Colinford Mattis had pleaded guilty last October to possessing a destructive device and expressed regret, but fought federal prosecutors’ effort to brand them as terrorists, more than doubling their potential sentences to 10 years.
Under revised agreements, the defendants were to be charged with conspiracy to use explosives and possess an explosive device, with prosecutors recommending sentences of 18 to 24 months. The charge carries a maximum five-year term.
During May 2020 protests in Brooklyn after a white Minneapolis policeman murdered Floyd, who was Black, Rahman threw a gasoline-filled bottle through the police car’s already-broken window and fled in a minivan driven by Mattis, according to prosecutors.
They originally faced up to 45 years in prison under President Donald Trump’s administration, which emphasized tough-on-crime policies.
Prosecutors offered plea deals after Trump’s successor Joe Biden pledged to reform the criminal justice system and address systemic racism.
In a court filing last month, prosecutors said 18- to 24-month terms reflected the “nature and circumstances of the offense and the histories and personal characteristics of these defendants.”
Rahman represented tenants in the Bronx as a public interest lawyer. Mattis worked as an associate at law firm Pryor Cashman, but was furloughed in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm suspended him after his arrest. She and he have acknowledged they will likely be disbarred.
They were expected to enter pleas to the new charges before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT).
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
