Man charged in connection to Minneapolis pawn shop arson
(Left): A still video from the first video, showing the pouring of liquid over the pawn shop. (Right): The man later identified as Lee, in front of the burning pawn shop. [U.S. Attorney's Office]
A Rochester man has been charged in connection to an arson at a Minneapolis pawn shop that occurred during protests following the death of George Floyd.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 25-year-old Montez Terrill Lee faces one count of arson.
A criminal complaint states the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive received an anonymous video of an arson that occurred at Max It Pawn on East Lake Street.
In the video, a man, later identified as Lee, is shown pouring liquid from a container around the store.
Another video showed Lee in front of the pawn shop saying, "(Expletive) this place. We're going to burn this (expletive) down," according to the complaint.