Blaine man accused of rioting in Minneapolis now charged with federal gun crimes
Hennepin County jail
A 29-year-old Blaine man already facing riot charges in connection to unrest in Minneapolis last August has been arrested and charged again, accused of carrying a gun while being a drug addict.
Thomas Wilder Moseley is charged in federal court with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition while being an unlawful user of, and addicted to, controlled substances. He'll make his first court appearance on Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota said in a news release.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Moseley was captured on surveillance video spray painting the front windows of the Minneapolis Police Department's Fifth Precinct building in south Minneapolis during an Aug. 15, 2020, protest that turned destructive.
Protesters threw rocks and other objects, breaking windows, firing "mortar-type" fireworks at the building and officers stationed on the roof, spray painted the building and used paint to obscure video surveillance cameras, the release states.
Investigators identified Moseley as one of the people who spray painted the building, which sustained "several thousand dollars worth of damages" during the incident, charges state.
Then, on Oct. 15, 2020, Moseley was inside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis where protesters were gathered during a court appearance for Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyd's May 25, 2020, death, the complaint says.
Deputies with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office arrested Moseley on probable cause based on his involvement in the Aug. 15, 2020, incident, the release says.
When he was arrested, Moseley was carrying a loaded handgun, the complaint says. He was subsequently charged in Hennepin County District Court with possessing a dangerous weapon within a courthouse complex, which is a felony.
After Moseley's arrest, Minneapolis police officers searched his home in Blaine, where they recovered two firearms, more than 1,400 pounds of ammunition, 96 grams of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia, the complaint states.
Police searched his vehicle, which was parked near the Government Center, finding five firearms, a large amount of ammunition, a hatchet, a crowbar and gas masks, charges say. They also found controlled substances, including marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms and cocaine.
He was subsequently charged with three counts of fifth-degree drug possession in Hennepin County.
When he was booked into the Hennepin County jail on Oct. 15, 2020, he was given the bottom bunk for the first week due to "unknown medical" precautions and drug withdrawal symptoms, the release says.
Moseley was also charged with felony damage to property in the Aug. 15, 2020, incident and was accused of being in possession of a knife during a Dec. 31, 2020, protest at Park Avenue and Fourth Street in Minneapolis, for which he was charged with second-degree riot, a Jan. 4 Hennepin County criminal complaint states.
In late January, Hennepin County prosecutors said they've urged a judge to increase bail for Moseley after he was bailed out of jail twice after the August and December incidents.
Moseley is currently in custody at the Hennepin County jail after being arrested by federal officials on March 30. Bail has not been set.
