A protester accused of arson, inciting a riot and other charges in connection with rallies in downtown Charleston that turned to looting Saturday night is being held on more than a quarter-million dollars bail, police and jail records show. 

Abraham Elijah Jenkins, a 25-year-old West Ashley resident, was arrested during a protest in North Charleston on Monday and charged with two minor counts: disorderly conduct and violating the city's curfew.

Following his arrest, Charleston police added several charges of their own — inciting a riot, third-degree arson, two counts of third-degree assault and battery, three counts of malicious injury to personal property and one count of second-degree assault and battery — for actions Jenkins is accused of committing during Saturday's unrest.

In all, his bail was set at $277,773.50, jail records show. 

Authorities laid out their case against Jenkins in incident reports and arrest affidavits provided to The Post and Courier on Thursday. Arrest affidavits reveal that he was being monitored by at least one undercover officer for several hours on Saturday as peaceful protesters took to the the streets of downtown Charleston in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last week. Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests that have continued since.

Abraham Elijah Jenkins jail report

A screenshot of the jail report for Abraham Elijah Jenkins, 25, shows numerous charges related to protests in Charleston on Saturday, May 30, 2020, and bail totaling more than $277,000. Cannon Detention Center/Provided

According to the incident reports, Jenkins and two other people were involved in smashing the window of a police cruiser about 8:50 p.m. at Meeting and Hasell streets.

After two attempts to set the car on fire failed, an individual police later identified as Jenkins is said to have taken off his shirt, soaked it in an unknown liquid, lit it on fire and threw it through the shattered back window of the police car, reports said. 

In another incident report, police said that Jenkins was standing atop a Mount Pleasant police cruiser about 5 p.m. at Meeting and Calhoun streets, jumping on the roof, yelling and inciting the crowd. 

Other incident reports list Jenkins as the suspect in the assault of a Mount Pleasant police officer and two Charleston police officers. 

According to arrest affidavits, Jenkins was captured on cellphone video by an undercover Charleston detective using a fire extinguisher to smash the windshield and a rear window of a city police SUV, causing about $1,000 in damage. 

An undercover police detective eventually identified the person as Jenkins after being "in close proximity" to him for several hours and observing him from "numerous vantage points," at times with Jenkins' face uncovered, affidavits said. 

Jenkins has a tattoo of a cross on his upper right shoulder, which police also used to identify him as a suspect, affidavits said. 

"On (Monday), Charleston Police Detectives were informed that Jenkins was arrested by the North Charleston Police Department on an unrelated charge," affidavits said. "During that arrest Jenkins was wearing a camouflage bandanna and black face mask which appear similar to the items being worn by the defendant in the undercover video footage." 

Susan Dunn, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, said she could not comment on the specific case, but offered to speak generally about the protests and the issue of high bail. 

"In general, there’s an understandable but inappropriate tendency to use bail as a message," Dunn said. "When bail is utilized it should only be used to protect safety or to make sure no one's a flight risk. It should not be a punishment in and of itself." 

With the coronavirus still a threat, the attorney also said that by keeping anyone in prison or jail, authorities are knowingly putting them at risk for getting the virus. 

"I think that the protesters are not the enemy," Dunn said. "With the police resorting to SWAT sort of tactics, they are, in fact, escalating the violence of the situation. That’s been true in Charleston, that's been true almost across the U.S. since police have been using military tactics and military equipment. Even with people breaking windows we do not need tanks in the streets of Charleston."

She reiterated that military weapons have no place in the hands of police or anyone outside of a war zone. 

Dunn said she hopes protesters and law enforcement can reconcile and work together to make Charleston a safe community for everyone, but that only time would tell. 

Earlier this week, ACLU of South Carolina Director Frank Knaak sent a letter to several area law enforcement leaders demanding an explanation and apology for authorities' conduct toward protesters.

Although there was looting in downtown Charleston on Saturday night, there have been no major reports of property destruction since. 

The letter demanded that Berkeley Sheriff Duane Lewis, Charleston Sheriff Al Cannon, Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds, Mount Pleasant Chief Carl Ritchie and State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel respond to a list of questions about the decisions to deploy weapons and arrest the demonstrators.

So far, only the Charleston County Sheriff's Office responded, stating that the agency fully supports the right of people to peacefully protest, but that deputies would use reasonable force to protect life and property. 

Reach Gregory Yee at 843-937-5908. Follow him on Twitter @GregoryYYee.

Gregory Yee covers the city of Charleston. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine.

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