U.S. Attorney: Illinois man charged after traveling to Minnesota, bringing explosives to riot
[Photo: U.S. Attorney's Office]
The U.S. Attorney's Office says an Illinois man has been charged after authorities say he traveled to Minnesota to riot.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Matthew Lee Rupert has been charged with civil disorder, carrying on a riot and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
The criminal complaint states Rupert posted on his Facebook account saying he planned to go to the Twin Cities as protests were going on following the death of George Floyd.
The complaint says cell phone video posted to his Facebook account on May 29 showed him passing out explosive devices to others and encouraging them to throw the devices at law enforcement officers.
In the video, Rupert was heard saying, "They got SWAT trucks up there… I've got some bombs if some of you all want to throw them back… bomb them back… here I got some more… light it and throw it," the complaint says.
On May 30, Rupert posted to Facebook that he planned to go to Chicago.
Rupert was later arrested for violating curfew set by the city of Chicago. The complaint says officers searched Rupert's vehicle and found "destructive devices."
According to the complaint, a bomb tech confirmed the devices seen in the video Rupert posted to Facebook were "destructive devices."