Illinois Man Sentenced for Arson of Minneapolis Store During Summer 2020 Riot
An Illinois man was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight years in prison and three years of supervised release for setting fire to a cell phone store in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.
According to court documents, on May 28, 2020, Matthew Lee Rupert, 29, of Galesburg, Illinois, posted messages on his Facebook account referencing the public protests occurring in the Twin Cities following the killing of Floyd, including one that said, “I’m going to Minneapolis tomorrow who coming only goons I’m renting hotel rooms.”
The next day, Rupert broadcast a Facebook Live video indicating that he was in Minneapolis, announcing that he came “to riot,” and was depicted handing out artillery-shell fireworks, encouraging violence against law enforcement officers, damaging property, breaking into buildings and looting businesses, the documents say.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed with the court, the video also shows Rupert asking for lighter fluid before entering a boarded-up Sprint store located on Nicollet Ave. S. in Minneapolis. He allegedly canvassed the store and eventually entered a back room while telling others that he had located a store safe.
Rupert and others then knocked several boxes into a pile on the ground. Rupert doused the pile of boxes with lighter fluid and then directed another individual—at the time, a juvenile—to light the pile on fire. Rupert fled the building and stated, “I lit it on fire!” The store sustained significant damage as a result of the fire.
“Matthew Rupert chose to drive more than 400 miles from his home in Illinois to Minnesota to engage in violence and destruction, all while broadcasting it for the world to see. Peaceful protest was not on his agenda,” said Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk. “Arson, looting, property damage, and the glorification of it, will not be tolerated. Today, justice has caught up with Mr. Rupert as he must now account for his crimes.”
“Today, we count yet another violent offender as held to account for his reckless and deliberate damage to our community,” said Michael Paul, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. “Mr. Rupert made his way to Minneapolis for the express purpose of instigating lawless behavior on our local streets. He demonstrated no purpose other than endangering peaceful protests by actively encouraging violence against law enforcement and personally destroying community businesses.”
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Minneapolis Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the FBI Chicago Field Office, the FBI Springfield Field Office, and the Chicago Police Department.