A 21-year-old man was charged Tuesday with trying to set a Trenton police car on fire during Sunday night’s violence in the city that followed peaceful protests of the death of George Floyd, authorities said.
Justin Spry, 21, of South Plainfield, was arrested at the scene in downton Trenton Sunday evening. A street camera recorded Spry and another person trying to stuff a piece of cloth into the gas tank of a marked police vehicle and ignite it, federal prosecutors said.
Police on scene saw Spry as he attempted to torch the car, however, Spry noticed them and attempted to run, but was arrested, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement.
NJ Advance Media obtained video of the incident, and arrest, which is below. In the video, other people alert the two men to approaching police, while one successfully eludes police, and one is tackled. Trenton police familiar with the incident say this is the Spry incident.
Later during the same unrest, a Trenton police car was set afire.
The case was referred to the FBI, who re-arrested Spry Tuesday and charged him with attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle owned or possessed by an institution receiving federal assistance, and attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle used in and affecting interstate commerce, Carpenito’s statement said.
“The conduct described in the criminal complaint demonstrates a deliberate effort to destroy a police vehicle during a demonstration,” Carpenito said. “Our office will not hesitate to bring to justice anyone who engages in this kind of destruction. We will work with our law enforcement partners to find these violent perpetrators and charge them appropriately.”
A large-scale protest was held in Trenton earlier Sunday, along with one in Atlantic City and others across New Jersey, to raise awareness of Floyd’s death, which was captured on video as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. The incident has sparked both peaceful protests and violent outbursts in cities around the country in the last week. They continued Tuesday.
The violence in Trenton erupted as a group of individuals proceeded along East State Street in the city’s downtown and began to smash store fronts, loot businesses, and attack marked Trenton Police Department vehicles parked along East State Street.
Spry will make his initial appearance in federal court in Trenton on Wednesday, June 3, by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni. He was initially charged with aggravated arson by Trenton police following his Sunday arrest, records show.
Reporter Kevin Shea contributed to this story.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.