Chicago Man Who Incited Riot In 2020 Sentenced To Federal Prison

CHICAGO — A Chicago man who pleaded guilty to inciting and participating in a riot during the summer of 2020 was sentenced to more than a year in federal prison Tuesday.

James Massey, 23, used social media to coordinate a looting spree that targeted a marijuana dispensary, clothing retailer, convenience store and cell phone shop during the night of Aug. 9 and early morning hours of Aug. 10, according to court records.

Widespread looting in downtown Chicago and surrounding neighborhoods took place that night after Chicago police shot a man on the South Side.

Although police said the man was 20 years old and fired a gun at officers prior to getting shot, social media posts circulated in the hours after the shooting claiming that officers had shot an unarmed child. In response, "car caravans" full of looters headed into the loop, determined to engage in "pure criminality," Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the next morning.

Massey admitted encouraging one such group of looters and taking part in a riot. In his plea agreement, he admitted posting messages encouraging a group of people to "create a public disturbance by committing acts of violence that cause damage to the property of another individual."

In one instance, Massey posted a Facebook Live video with the caption, "ATTENTION ATTENTION LO[O]TING START AT 12am tonight ... WE WILL NOT BE F------ UP THE SOUTH SIDE EAST SIDE OR WEST SIDE DOWNTOWN AREA AND UP NORTH AREA ONLY BRING YA TOOLS SKI MASK AND GLOVES #LETSGOOOOO," according to his plea agreement. He also admitted posting messages saying "Bro im hitting phone store" and a photo with the caption, "Let's get ready to steal b----."

In a letter to the judge in his case ahead of his sentencing hearing, Massey said he was deeply sorry and accepted full responsibility for his actions.

"Being at MCC Chicago all these months and having to see the consequences of my actions gave me a hard dose of reality. I had to face my errors and the way of thinking that brought me here. I acted in such a immature way. I was upset with many things in life," Massey told the judge.

"Being black should not be a burden or feeling that things are not fair because I am on the wrong end. I allowed that mentality to guide me," he said. "I simply ran with the mob and used real reasons as an excuse and caused so much harm. Having to reflect on this, I simply feel stupid in having disappointed so many."

Massey was arrested on March 2, 2021, and charged with inciting a riot. He was released from custody on bond with the condition that he remain in Illinois and not possess any weapons, according to prosecutors.

But on the afternoon of Aug. 11, 2021, Massey travelled to Hammond, Indiana, and went to a gun store, where he filed out a federal form falsely asserting that he lived in Indiana and did not have any felony charges pending against him, according to a sentencing memo from Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Bond.

Asking the judge to impose a sentence of at least two years in prison, Bond said the seriousness of Massey's actions was impossible to overstate.

"[Massey] incited, looted, stole, and caused a grave public disturbance without a care or thought for the consequences of his actions," Bond said. "Then, when faced with the serious charges in this case, [he] thumbed his nose at this Court and the citizens of this community when he disregarded the terms of pre-trial release and tried to purchase a firearm in Indiana by submitting false paperwork to support that purchase, including a falsified ATF Form 4473 and documents from the Indiana Secretary of State with false residency information."

Read more: 'Lets Get Ready To Steal': Chicago Man Charged With Inciting Riot On Facebook

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Ilia Usharovich, Massey's defense attorney, said that his client had been injured while in federal custody, suffering a fracture to his jaw that did not heal properly.

"Although [Massey] made a foolish decision while on bond to purchase a firearm while on bond, such decision resulted in [Massey] being remanded to the MCC, more than six months of incarceration, a broken jaw, missing his sons first birthday, and a tremendous amount of pain, suffering, and additional future medical treatment, potentially for the rest of his life," Usharovich said, asking the judge to impose a sentence of 18 months or less.

"This was truly a cruel and unusual consequence of his conduct at the hands of providence or what one may say Karma, not the state," he added. "Any further punishment is not necessary, especially given [Massey's] age and the circumstances of this case."

Emmerson Buie, special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago field office, issued a statement following the sentencing.

“Inciting riots and other unlawful activity are both irresponsible and reckless," Bouie said, "and the FBI will continue to work tirelessly with police and prosecutorial partners to ensure public safety is not compromised."