An Ivy-League Educated Lawyer Among 3 People Charged in Molotov Cocktail Attacks

In New York City, an Ivy League-educated lawyer and member of a Brooklyn community board is facing charges along with two other individuals accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at NYPD vehicles during George Floyd protests over the weekend.

32-year-old Colinford Mattis, a Princeton University and New York University School of Law graduate, was allegedly the driver of a tan minivan alongside his passenger, fellow attorney 31-year-old Urooj Rahman. Authorities say that Rahman allegedly hurled the firebomb at an empty NYPD vehicle outside the 88th Precinct station house in Fort Greene early Saturday. They tried to flee but were apprehended a short while later. They both face charges of possession of explosive device components. Manhattan law firm Pryor Cashman confirmed that Mattis is an associate there; however, he has been furloughed since April due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the firm confirmed. A magistrate judge ordered Mattis and Rahman to be released to home confinement on a $250,000 bond with electronic monitoring, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 12th. His employment is scheduled to be reviewed by a committee in the upcoming week.

In a mirroring separate incident, 27-year-old Samantha Shader has also been accused of tossing a Molotov cocktail at an occupied NYPD vehicle at 1:12 a.m. in Brooklyn Saturday morning. Four police officers were in the car at the time. The FBI says the bomb-shattered two windows of the vehicle and caused damages to the vehicle while officers were inside. As Shader was being cuffed, she proceeded to bite one of the officer’s legs. After her arrest, she waived her Miranda rights and admitted to launching the homemade bomb at the NYPD vehicle. On Monday, a magistrate judge ordered that she be held without bail until her preliminary hearing, also scheduled for June 12th.