Biglaw

Suspended Biglaw Associate Accused In Molotov Cocktail Attack Pleads Guilty

And now the federal government is trying to add a terrorism enhancement to the sentence.

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When we last checked in on suspended (and formerly furloughed) Pryor Cashman associate Colinford Mattis and housing attorney Urooj Rahman, both charged in May 2020 for their involvement with a Molotov cocktail attack on a police vehicle in Brooklyn, New York, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, they’d been released to home confinement for a second time, after being sent back to jail. This happened more than a year ago, in July 2020. What have they been up to since then?

Mattis and Rahman were originally indicted on charges of arson and use of explosives, and each pleaded not guilty. Yesterday, as part of a deal, they pleaded guilty to one count of possessing or making a destructive device.

This is where things get complicated, as prosecutors are now seeking to add a terrorism enhancement to their sentences, which would result in a 10-year prison term for both lawyers. Their attorneys are understandably strongly opposed to the enhancement, seeing as neither of their clients has a criminal record. The New York Law Journal has additional information:

“This is the real beginning of this case,” [Rahman’s attorney Paul] Shechtman, a partner at Bracewell, said after the hearing. “The task now is to persuade the judge that these two young people shouldn’t be sentenced to prison for conduct that occurred in the heat of the moment on one of the most heated nights in modern American history.”

Mattis and Rahman have hundreds of supporters, one of whom is Rachel Barkow, a professor at NYU Law, who taught Mattis while he was a student there. In a New York Daily News op-ed published earlier this week, she asserted that the federal prosecutors in this case are “continuing to pursue the Trump-era approach of labeling Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists.” She continues:

Labeling Mattis and Rahman as terrorists is a tactic that one would expect from the Trump administration as part of its political strategy to diminish the calls for racial justice in the wake of police violence. It is shocking to see prosecutors dedicated to equal treatment under the law seeking that label in this case. …

Breon Peace, President Biden’s recently confirmed pick as United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, should step in and not have prosecutors under his watch seek an enhancement and a sentence that does not apply to the reality of this case. Doing so would send a message that the Biden administration is serious about turning the page on Trump’s politicization of racial justice protesters….

Sentencing for Mattis and Rahman is scheduled to take place on February 8. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan of the Eastern District of New York believes the lawyers are “virtually certain” to be disbarred. Pryor Cashman says it is “unable” to weigh in on Mattis’s employment with the firm until after his sentencing.

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Lawyers Charged in Molotov Cocktail Case Plead Guilty, Prepare to Fight Terrorism Enhancement at Sentencing [New York Law Journal]
Biden’s DOJ uses a Trump tactic: Federal prosecutors label Black Lives Matter protesters terrorists [New York Daily News]

Earlier: Suspended Biglaw Associate Accused In Molotov Cocktail Attack Released To Home Confinement
Lawyer Charged In Alleged Molotov Cocktail Firebombing Caught On Camera In Controversial Interview
Suspended Biglaw Associate Accused In Molotov Cocktail Attack Sent Back To Jail
Furloughed Biglaw Associate Charged In Molotov Cocktail Attack Released On $250K Bond
Furloughed Biglaw Associate Charged In New York Molotov Cocktail Attack

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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