Arkansas man pleads guilty to firebombing police cars during George Floyd protests

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas community activist accused in the firebombings of police cars after the 2020 murder of George Floyd pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court.

Mujera Benjamin Lung’aho, 33, of North Little Rock, pleaded to one count of malicious destruction of a vehicle by means of fire, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The plea ends a case brought on by the killing of Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. said Lung’aho will return to court for sentencing after a presentence investigation is completed. That normally takes as many as 90 days, officials said. The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years behind bars.

Lung’aho was initially indicted Oct. 6, 2020, on one count each of conspiracy to maliciously damage property by use of explosive, malicious use of an explosive device to damage property, and use of an incendiary device during a crime of violence during civil disturbances in Little Rock in which cars belonging to the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Arkansas State police were bombed.

A federal grand jury handed up a superseding indictment on Feb. 3, 2021, that merged his case with those of four co-defendants — Brittany Jeffrey, Emily Nowlin, Aline Espinosa-Villegas and Renea Goddard — and added 13 new charges against him. Marshall later dismissed four of those charges.

Lung’aho’s co-defendants have pleaded in the case. Jeffrey was sentenced in December to time served and 18 months of supervised release. The status of the other defendants’ cases was not immediately clear.