Alabama Activist Charged in Fire at Mississippi Police Headquarters

Federal prosecutors charged Garrick Rawls, an Alabama man who describes himself as a civil rights activist, with arson in connection with a fire that damaged the Senatobia police headquarters. The charge was filed on November 2, three days after the Halloween fire. Prosecutors have not detailed a motive.

An affidavit says security video shows a masked person breaking a window shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, entering the lobby and releasing contents from a canister. After the person left the building and ignited it, an explosion sent him into the street, where parts of his body and backpack caught fire. He tried to extinguish the flames and fled on foot, the affidavit says.

Investigators found a partly charred boot, latex hand coverings, a hammer and a gas-can nozzle at the scene. Community members helped identify Rawls, the affidavit says. When federal agents found him in Huntsville, Alabama, on November 2, he had a large bandage and was walking with a limp.

The fire came amid months of protests over the June death of Kohen Wiley, who was 1. During a response to a shoplifting report, a Senatobia officer fired into the vehicle Wiley was riding in, killing him. His mother was unharmed and a friend was seriously injured. Both women denied stealing anything, and neither has been charged. An inquiry by state officials concluded that the officer had committed no crime; Wiley’s family has said the use of force was unjustified.

The affidavit says Rawls attended a candlelit vigil for Wiley in Senatobia the night before the fire. His federal public defender offered no immediate response to a request for comment.

Fire Charge Follows Protests Over Toddler’s Fatal Police Shooting

The arson charge against civil rights activist Garrick Rawls comes against the backdrop of protests over the fatal police shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in Senatobia, Mississippi. Rawls was charged on November 2 over a fire that damaged the police headquarters on Halloween; prosecutors have not stated a motive.

Wiley was in a vehicle when a Senatobia officer fired while dealing with a shoplifting report. His mother was unharmed, and her friend was seriously injured. Both women denied stealing anything, and neither has been charged. A state investigation cleared the officer of criminal wrongdoing, while Wiley’s family has argued that the force used was unjustified.

The affidavit says Rawls attended a candlelit vigil for Wiley on the night before the fire. It also describes surveillance footage of a masked person breaking into the headquarters, releasing a canister’s contents and igniting them outside, triggering an explosion. The person fled after flames caught on his body and backpack.

Investigators found a partly burned boot, gloves, a hammer and a gas-can nozzle. Agents located Rawls in Huntsville, Alabama, with a large bandage and a limp, the affidavit says. The charge is serious, but the investigation into the fire should not erase the unresolved family objections to the officer’s use of force. Rawls’s public defender offered no immediate response to a request for comment.

Federal Arson Charge Follows Fire at Mississippi Police Headquarters

A firebombing charge has brought a federal case against Garrick Rawls, an Alabama activist, after an explosive fire damaged the Senatobia police headquarters. Rawls was charged on November 2. Prosecutors have not outlined a motive, and the charge concerns the fire—not the protests that preceded it.

An affidavit describes surveillance footage showing a masked person breaking through a station window shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Saturday. The person released material from a canister inside, then ignited it outside, setting off an explosion. Flames caught on the person and a backpack before he fled on foot, the affidavit says.

Investigators recovered partly charred footwear, latex hand coverings, a hammer, and the spout of a fuel container. Community members helped identify Rawls, who was found in Huntsville with a large bandage and a limp, according to the affidavit. Rawls’s federal public defender gave no immediate response to a request for comment.

The station has faced protests since June, when a Senatobia officer fired at a vehicle amid a response to a shoplifting report, killing 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. The child’s mother was unharmed and her friend seriously injured; both women denied stealing anything and have not been charged. State investigators concluded the officer had committed no crime, although Wiley’s family has called the use of force unjustified. Protest over the shooting does not make arson acceptable; the fire is now the subject of a federal prosecution.