Staples man pleads guilty to arson of Minneapolis Police Third Precinct

Williams ComplaintAffidavit-1 Censored1.jpg — This image allegedly shows Bryce Michael Williams approaching the entrance of the Minneapolis Police Department's third precinct holding a molotov cocktail. This image was taken May 28 from the Minneapolis Police Department's surveillance video. The image was submitted in the criminal complaint filed against Williams. The U.S. District Court in Minnesota is prosecuting the case. This photo has been edited to cover a profanity.

By Forum News Service and Jennifer Kraus

November 19, 2020 at 1:01 PM

BRAINERD, Minn. -- A 26-year-old Staples man pleaded guilty Thursday, Nov. 19, to arson in connection with his role in burning down the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct in May.

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced the guilty plea of Bryce Michael Williams to one count of conspiracy to commit arson at the Minneapolis Police building in a news release. Williams entered his guilty plea Thursday before Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. The conviction comes after the Staples man was initially charged June 16 via criminal complaint and then indicted on Aug. 25.

Related: Brainerd, Staples men indicted for Minneapolis police precinct fire
According to William’s guilty plea and documents filed with the court, on the night of May 28, WIlliams went to the Third Precinct where a crowd of hundreds had gathered. At one point, the crowd began shouting, “Burn it down, burn it down.” Soon after, a fence that was designed to keep trespassers out of the Third Precinct building was torn down. Williams, along with other co-conspirators, breached the fence and entered the Third Precinct building, the news release stated.

Surveillance video footage from the Third Precinct showed Williams, wearing a mask, a baseball cap and a hooded sweatshirt, standing near the entrance of the Third Precinct holding a Molotov cocktail while other co-conspirators lit the wick. The Molotov cocktail was taken into the Third Precinct by a co-conspirator and was used to start a fire, the release stated. Williams later threw a box on an existing fire located just outside the Third Precinct entrance.

This case is part of an investigation conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Staples Police Department, the Todd County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.

Protesters celebrate after overrunning the 3rd Precinct police station and setting it ablaze May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Nick Woltman / St. Paul Pioneer Press

Staples man pleads guilty to arson of Minneapolis Police Third Precinct

Men from Brainerd and Staples are among four defendants federally indicted with conspiracy to commit arson for their alleged roles in burning the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building during the May 28 riots following the murder of George Floyd.