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Bystander video shows Earlja J. Dudley, 27, and another man opening the vehicle’s engine and igniting a fire during unrest that followed what had been a peaceful day of protest against the death of George Floyd on May 31, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday.
In the video, Dudley is wearing a tank top and baseball cap with the Roman numerals “XIV” in red lettering, along with distinctive green, black and white sneakers, Carpenito said.
Investigators found other photos of Dudley on social media wearing the same cap, tank top and sneakers, the U.S. attorney said.
A protest was peaceful earlier in the day. Later, a riot erupted on East State Street in downtown Trenton, with vandals smashing storefronts, looting and destroying several police vehicles.
Federal authorities charged Dudley with “attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle owned or possessed by an institution receiving federal financial assistance,” as well as “attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle used in and affecting interstate commerce,” Carpenito said.
Each charge carries a mandatory minimum five-year federal prison sentence upon conviction, he noted.
Dudley is the second defendant charged federally in connection with the violence that erupted in New Jersey's capital city that night.
FBI agents also seized Justin Spry, 21, of South Plainfield after they said he was seen stuffing a rag into the gas tank of a police cruiser and trying to set it on fire. He, too, was caught on surveillance video, they said:
FBI: Middlesex Man Tried To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest
Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark with the investigation leading to the arrest.
He also thanked Trenton officers and State Police troopers, as well as member of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
Handling the case for the government is Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Michelle Gasparian of Carpenito’s Criminal Division in Trenton.
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