NYPD Molotov Cocktail Attacks: Hudson Valley Woman Indicted

NEW YORK CITY — Hudson Valley resident Samantha Shader was indicted in federal court after police said she tossed a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD vehicle during protests last month in New York City.

Shader and co-defendants Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman were indicted Thursday on charges of using explosives, arson, use of explosives to commit a felony, arson conspiracy, use of a destructive device, civil disorder and making or possessing a destructive device.

The attacks took place amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota while in police custody.

If convicted on all counts, they face sentences of up to life imprisonment.

"A little more than a week after their arrests, Shader, Mattis, and Rahman have been charged with seven-count indictments in response to their potentially deadly attacks," said William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director-in-charge of the FBI's New York field office. "Their criminal behavior risked lives, destroyed equipment that exists to serve the community, siphoned response resources, and created a threat to those who had every right to safely assemble and express their opinion."

As detailed in court filings in the case against Shader, a video recorded by a witness captured her igniting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at an NYPD vehicle occupied by four officers, shattering two of the vehicle's windows. Police pursued the 27-year-old Catskill resident as she attempted to flee and caught her.

According to court filings in the case against Mattis and Rahman, an NYPD surveillance camera recorded Rahman tossing a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD vehicle parked near the 88th Precinct in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, then fleeing in a tan minivan. Officers pursued the minivan and arrested Rahman and Mattis, who was the vehicle’s driver, prosecutors said. Mattis, 32, and Rahman, 31, are Brooklyn residents and lawyers.

In the vehicle, the NYPD found several component items for Molotov cocktails, including a lighter, a bottle filled with liquid suspected to be gasoline, toilet paper, additional bottles and a gasoline canister.

Shader has a rap sheet that includes arrests in 11 states, according to the New York Post.

The government’s case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ian C. Richardson and Jonathan Algor are in charge of the prosecution.