St. Paul man gets prison, ordered to pay $12M for burning of 3rd Police Precinct
A St. Paul man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in the arson fires at the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct last May.
Brandon Wolfe, 23, in December pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson and on Tuesday he was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office says.
"Branden Wolfe crossed the line and engaged in criminal activity during the evening the Third Precinct building was burned down last May," Michael Paul, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, said. "People who choose to engage in violent activity during protests may believe they are anonymous, but they are mistaken and will be held accountable for their crimes.”
According to court documents, Wolfe was at the Third Precinct on May 28, 2020, and pushed a barrel into a fire at the entrance of the building not long after the crowd shouted "Burn it down."
He also went into the building and stole a police vest, duty belt, handcuffs, earpiece, baton, knife, riot helmet, pistol magazine, police radio, police overdose kit, uniform name plates and ammunition.
“Mr. Wolfe furthered the destruction that took place in Minneapolis last summer by literally adding fuel to the fire. In addition to the arson, Mr. Wolfe stole body armor, weapons, and ammunition belonging to the Minneapolis Police Department,” Acting U.S. Attorney Anders Folk said in a statement. “This sentence underscores the seriousness of Mr. Wolfe’s actions and holds him to account.”
Wolfe was among four Minnesota men to be federally indicted in connection to the arson at the precinct. Dylan Robinson, 23, of Brainerd, was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit arson.
Bryce Michael Williams, 26, of Staples, and Davon D-Andre Turner, 24, of St. Paul, were also charged and have pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit arson. They'll be sentenced at a later date.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota has charged 23 people with federal arson-related charges in connection to civil unrest in the Twin Cities following George Floyd's May 25 murder, a spokesperson told Bring Me The News last week.
