Arrest made in Molotov cocktail case from May Day 2016
Apr 28, 2017, 11:57 AM
Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole announces the arrest of a suspect from the May Day 2016 protests -- nearly one year after it happened. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Saying it was “coincidental” that the arrest was made nearly one year after May Day 2016, and just days before the next round of protests, authorities took a suspect into custody who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at police in downtown Seattle.
“Wearing a mask doesn’t insulate someone from justice,” said Special Agent Jay Tabb with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force which investigated the incident.
“It’s entirely coincidental that this arrest occurred today,” Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said. “But I think it is an opportunity to send a message to those who would bring something of this nature to an event. It’s incredibly dangerous; we want to protect the people, the peaceful demonstrators that are there, we want to protect (the press), we also want to protect our officers.”
RELATED: Seattle prepares for marches and mayhem on May Day 2017
Wil Casey Floyd, 32, was arrested at his mother’s home in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Friday. He is being charged in federal court with one count of unlawful possession of a destructive device — a Molotov cocktail. The maximum penalty for the charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
During last year’s May Day protests — after the day’s peaceful demonstrations — unlit Molotov cocktails were thrown at police officers. The devices were constructed using beer bottles containing flammable liquid, a home-made stopper, and cotton cloth. One Molotov cocktail broke at the feet of an officer and the flammable liquid was later ignited when a flash-bang grenade went off. The officer suffered burns to his leg. Evidence was gathered at Fourth Avenue and Seattle Boulevard, including shards of glass, and a bag that still had one unused Molotov cocktail inside.
Detectives then spent months looking over video from the day. The incident was also investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Last week, officers were able to track Floyd on a flight from San Diego to Wisconsin where he was arrested. He appeared in a Wisconsin federal court on Friday and will be transported to Seattle within two weeks, where his case will be processed.
Tabb said that he would not classify the incident as “terrorism,” and that the Joint Terrorism Task Force was just the logic agency to investigate the crime. He also said that this could have been charged through the state court system, but the federal avenue was the “best way to go for justice.”
“Acts of violence will not be tolerated,” O’Toole said. “We will relentlessly pursue suspects as we did in this instance and make sure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”
