***Update*** Bomb throwers to be released on bond against wishes of federal prosecutors.
One of the lawyers charged with hurling Molotov cocktails at a police cruiser is a 32-year-old Princeton educated lawyer and his partner in (alleged) crime is a 31-year-old “human rights” lawyer and activist who worked on refugee issues in Turkey.
Accused Molotov cocktail hurler is Ivy League-educated lawyer, community board member
A Ivy League-educated lawyer and member of a Brooklyn community board was among those arrested for hurling a Molotov cocktail at a marked NYPD vehicle amid George Floyd protests, it was revealed Sunday.
Colinford Mattis, 32, was allegedly behind the wheel of a tan minivan as his passenger, fellow attorney Urooj Rahman, allegedly hurled the incendiary at an empty NYPD vehicle outside the 88th Precinct station house in Fort Greene early on Saturday.
Mattis, a graduate of Princeton University and New York University law school, is an associate at corporate Manhattan firm Pryor Cashman.
[….]
Rahman, 31, meanwhile, is also registered as an attorney in New York state, who was admitted to the bar in June 2019 after graduating from Fordham University School of Law. It was not immediately clear on Sunday whether she was affiliated with any law firm.
It’s unclear how she and Mattis know each other.
The Brooklyn residents are federally charged with causing damage by fire and explosives to a police vehicle, during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd.
Thanks to a reader for a tip! I bet there is so much more to be learned about this pair.
Urooj Rahman’15 worked with the Refugee Solidarity Network (RSN) and Refugee Rights Turkey (RTT), which, through their legal work, assist and empower refugees fleeing Turkey. Urooj provided direct services to asylum-seekers at the Center for Refugee Rights in Istanbul. As a foreign lawyer in Turkey, she lent her legal assistance mostly to non-Syrians going through the UNHCR refugee status determination procedure. She also served several months in New York with RSN, using her direct service experience to inform her contribution to international advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives.
I’ll try to come back to this story, but after being away, and then due to a storm losing internet service for days, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
