Brainerd man sentenced to 4 years for fire at Minneapolis protest

Published 4:12 pm Wednesday, April 28, 2021

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MINNEAPOLIS — A Brainerd man who pleaded guilty to helping set fire to a Minneapolis police station during protests over the death of George Floyd was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison.

Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 23, was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay back $12 million for damages that resulted from the May 2020 precinct fire. Robinson pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to commit arson.

A federal complaint accuses Robinson of lighting a Molotov cocktail that another person threw toward the Third Precinct headquarters. In addition, Robinson and others allegedly tore down a fence that surrounded the building.

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Three other people have pleaded guilty in federal court for their roles in the precinct fire and are awaiting sentencing.

The civil unrest that followed Floyd’s death led the governor to call in the National Guard. Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, died May 25 after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on his neck.

Chauvin was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.