A person with a historical past of arrests at pro-Palestinian protests was charged Monday with setting hearth to 11 New York Metropolis police automobiles final month.
Jakhi McCray, 21, of Brooklyn pleaded not responsible to arson in U.S. District Court docket.
A felony grievance unsealed Monday mentioned McCray was recorded on surveillance video scaling a fence to a non-public lot for reserve New York Police Division automobiles in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood shortly earlier than 1 a.m. on June 12. A police officer arrived a few half hour later to seek out the automobiles on hearth and the suspect fleeing by means of a gap within the fence, it mentioned.
The grievance mentioned a lighter and a pair of sun shades containing McCray’s fingerprints had been discovered on the scene, together with hearth starters that had been positioned beneath some undamaged automobiles.
Police estimated the substitute value of the automobiles at $800,000.
McCray’s legal professional, Ron Kuby, mentioned his shopper, whom he described as an activist, was ordered launched on the arson cost however remained in police custody on a separate misdemeanor depend in Manhattan.
After the automobiles had been torched, Mayor Eric Adams prompt the suspect was related to protests in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
