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Light sentence handed to anti-police Molotov cocktail maker in Seattle

Light sentence handed to anti-police Molotov cocktail maker in Seattle


Light sentence handed to anti-police Molotov cocktail maker in Seattle

SEATTLE — A suburban Seattle man who pleaded guilty to bringing a dozen Molotov cocktails to a protest at the Seattle police union headquarters in 2020 has been sentenced to about three years in prison.

Justin Moore was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 40 months in prison, KUOW radio reported on Monday.

Moore made 12 gasoline devices in beer bottles and carried them to a protest march on Labor Day, 2020, at the Seattle Police Officers Guild headquarters, according to the plea agreement and police.

Police smelled gasoline and found the box of devices in a parking lot. Court documents state that Moore was one of four people suspected of taking part in a plot to burn the building.

Federal prosecutors say Moore was identified using surveillance video from the protest, data from electronic devices in the crowd, witness testimony, and testimony from several others who were allegedly involved in the plan.

“Moore’s offense was extremely dangerous and created a substantial risk of injury to numerous bystanders,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg for the Western District of Washington said in a statement, adding that more than 1,000 people were participating in the protest at the time. “All of them were in harm’s way if one of the devices had exploded," his statement said.

Moore's sentence of just over three years is in sharp contrast to the long prison terms given to many of the January 6th protesters in Washington.

Many have received more than 10 years for being at the scene of the riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021.