SEATTLE (AP) - A 20-year-old Alaska man pleaded guilty Monday to a federal arson conspiracy charge, acknowledging he set a fire outside a Seattle police precinct during summer protests while others tried to bar a door to keep officers from leaving.
Surveillance video showed Desmond David-Pitts piling trash into a sally-port area at the East Precinct and using a lighter to set them ablaze on Aug. 24, amid months of anti-police demonstrations that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
He also was seen on the 11-minute video speaking with black-clad participants who used a crowbar and other means to try to bar the door, and who tried to set other fires at the building. Police nevertheless managed to get outside and join Seattle firefighters in extinguishing the fires, federal prosecutors said.
David-Pitts was identified and arrested within an hour thanks to his distinctive pink-camouflage pants. He told investigators following his arrest that he had had bad experiences with police and that he was angry.
He faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced April 27, and he has agreed to pay restitution to the Seattle Police Department for damage to the building, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle said Monday.
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