Back on June 5, 2020, in Minnesota, BLM riots were breaking out and burning the city as thousands of people took to the streets to begin looting businesses, vandalizing private property, and recklessly setting fire to buildings.
Montez Terriel Lee Jr. was one of these violent actors. That night, Lee broke into a pawn shop, poured fire accelerant around, and set it on fire. His actions were caught on video.
Over two months after Lee burned down the shop, a 30-year-old man, Oscar Lee Stewart was found dead among the debris.
Lee is facing a shorter sentence than normal because, according to U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folks, he was “caught up in the fury” of the Black Lives Matter riots.
100 Percent Fed Up reports that “according to court records, one of the videos captures Lee standing in front of the burning shop, saying, ‘F*** this place. We’re gonna burn this b**** to the ground.’”
Instead of facing the typical sentence of 200 months, US Attorney W. Anders Folk recommended less time because of the “motives” behind the arson and killing.
“Mr. Lee’s motive for setting the fire is a foremost issue. Mr. Lee credibly states that he was in the streets to protest unlawful police violence against black men, and there is no basis to disbelieve this statement. Mr. Lee, appropriately, acknowledges that he ‘could have demonstrated in a different way,’ but that he was ‘caught up in the fury of the mob after living as a black man watching his peers suffer at the hands of police,’” the memo stated.
Let us remind you, this wasn’t written by the defense, it was written by the prosecution…
“Arson in particular is an inherently dangerous and unpredictable felony offense. The arsonist who sets a building ablaze cannot know the extent of the damage or death he or she will cause—the crime is by its nature chaotic and uncontrollable. Surrounding homes and businesses may be inadvertently destroyed; firefighters, people trapped in buildings, or the arsonist him or herself may be killed,” the memo continued.
“In this case, Mr. Stewart paid the cost for Mr. Lee’s flagrantly dangerous disregard for others. Mr. Lee states that he checked the building before he set the fire to make sure no one would be hurt. If true, this is at least some small measure of precaution. But as the evidence makes clear, it was woefully inadequate. Mr. Lee’s check of the building did not save Oscar Stewart’s life; nor would it have been effective in saving the lives of any firefighters had they become trapped; nor would it have saved the lives and property of nearby neighbors if the wind carried the conflagration to their homes.”
The memo said that while some people may have been exploiting the chaos, he did not believe it to be the case with Lee.
“As anyone watching the news worldwide knows, many other people in Minnesota were similarly caught up,” the memo stated. “There appear to have been many people in those days looking only to exploit the chaos and disorder in the interests of personal gain or random violence. There appear also to have been many people who felt angry, frustrated, and disenfranchised, and who were attempting, in many cases in an unacceptably reckless and dangerous manner, to give voice to those feelings. Mr. Lee appears to be squarely in this latter category.”
The 100 Percent Fed Up report states that “in the conclusion of Lee’s case, instead of the 200+ months that Lee was predicted to serve, the ruling Judge granted a much lighter 120-month term of imprisonment.”
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Thanks to our friends at 100 Percent Fed Up and Trending Politics for contributing to this article.