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.
He was furloughed in April amid the coronavirus crisis, his employer confirmed.
“As we confront critical issues around historic and ongoing racism and inequity in our society, I am saddened to see this young man allegedly involved in the worst kind of reaction to our shared outrage over what had occurred,” managing partner Ron Shechtman said in a statement to The Post.
Brooklyn Community Board 5 in East New York lists Mattis as one of its members, though the board’s president and reps didn’t immediately return calls on Sunday.
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.
“No rational human being can ever believe that hurling firebombs at police officers and vehicles is justified,” said Brooklyn US Attorney Richard Donaghue.
Both attorneys are expected to be arraigned on Monday.
Pryor Cashman said that Mattis’ employment status will be reviewed “as we obtain further information this week.”
If convicted, each of them faces up to 20 years behind bars with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years.
Additional reporting by Aaron Feis
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