Brainerd Man Helped Start Minneapolis Police Station Fires: Feds

MINNEAPOLIS — A Brainerd man is accused of helping start a fire at Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building, which was burned and heavily vandalized May 28 when protests broke out over the death of George Floyd.

Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 22, has been federally charged with aiding and abetting arson.

Robinson was arrested Sunday in Breckenridge, Colorado. He made his initial appearance at the U.S. District Court in Denver.

On the night of May 28, the Third Precinct was overrun by demonstrators, and Mayor Jacob Frey ordered police to abandon it.

Several separate fires were started in the building, according to the criminal complaint. Surveillance video footage from the Third Precinct shows Robinson helping light a Molotov cocktail and throwing another incendiary device at the building, according to authorities.

Federal investigators also reviewed a video posted on Robinson's Snapchat account, which they said shows at least one person making a Molotov. During the video, Robinson posted several comments, including "These guys have never made a Molotov… Rookies," and "We need gasoline."

Another Snapchat video shows Robinson setting a fire in a stairwell inside the Third Precinct, according to investigators.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating 135 fires that took place in the Twin Cities during the unrest that followed Floyd's death.