A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Cedar Park man to 24 months in prison for possessing parts of an incendiary device, a Molotov cocktail, during an evening protest in Austin on May 30, 2020.
During a weekend of protests in May, some protesters threw rocks, bricks, eggs, water bottles, and Molotov cocktails at police officers, according to an Austin Police Department statement at the time, which was corroborated in part by press reports and videos shared on social media.
Graffiti was left on the APD headquarters expressly calling for violence against police, including the slogans “Kill Cops,” and “Dead Cops Save Lives.”
Nobody has yet been convicted for those acts. But Cyril Lartigue, 27, was convicted by a federal jury in October 2021 for preparing a Molotov cocktail with the evident intent to use it against police.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Lartigue was caught on videotape manufacturing the Molotov cocktail while in a parking lot directly adjacent to the Austin Municipal Court entrance.
A Molotov cocktail is a breakable glass bottle containing a flammable substance such as petrol, alcohol, or a napalm-like mixture, with some motor oil added, and usually a source of ignition such as a burning cloth wick held in place by the bottle’s stopper.
While making the device, Lartigue was interrupted by the oncoming presence of Austin Police Department officers heading in his direction. Lartigue fled the area, leaving the device behind, but returned within minutes to retrieve it.
Police officers later arrested Lartigue inside a nearby portable toilet where he had changed clothes. Inside his backpack officers recovered materials used to manufacture a destructive device, including beer bottles, a bottle with lighter fluid, cloth rags, and a butane lighter along with the clothes he was previously wearing.
“The sentence imposed today demonstrates our office’s commitment to the prosecution of violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Peaceful protest cannot and must not be conflated with violence and the construction of dangerous weapons like Molotov cocktails. The prosecution and sentence in this case should serve as a deterrent to those considering similar acts in the future.”
“Our constitutional right to peacefully protest is sacrosanct and must be protected,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Fred J. Milanowski. “People like the defendant who bring illegal and dangerous weapons to a protest should be prosecuted to protect and preserve that right for us all. I want to thank the jury for listening to all the evidence and sending the message that taking dangerous and destructive devices to protests will not be tolerated.”
The ATF, Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated this matter.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.
Separately, the Travis County District Attorney is investigating several Austin police officers for their conduct during the protests, including the use of “less-lethal munitions”—bean bag rounds—that seriously injured several protesters.
A grand jury is reportedly weighing indictments against the officers, which could include charges of assault. However, grand jury deliberations are secret and no indictments have yet been returned.
