A federal appeals court ruled two Brooklyn lawyers accused of hurling a Molotov cocktail into an empty NYPD car during a George Floyd protest can be released on bail pending their trial.
Colinford Mattis, 32, and Urooj Rahman, 31, walked out of the Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday night after being locked up for the last 25 days, since prosecutors appealed their initial release June 1. The government’s appeal ultimately fell flat, with two of three appellate judges ruling in favor of the lawyers’ release on bail to home confinement with electronic monitoring.
“The conditions of release contain provisions that impede defendants’ ability to engage in criminal activity,” wrote Judge Peter Hall in the majority opinion. “Neither defendant had a prior criminal record… Both defendants had engaged in responsible careers and are dedicated to caring for their families. Both demonstrated they had deep ties to the community, and both had friends and family explain that they were willing to post $250,000 bonds as bail.”
Rahman is accused of tossing the incendiary device into an empty and previously vandalized NYPD car outside the 88th Precinct in Fort Greene May 30. Mattis was allegedly her getaway driver.
The lawyers face up to life in prison on a slew of charges.
Federal prosecutors had appealed two other judges’ rulings releasing Rahman and Mattis, arguing “irreparable harm would result from the defendants’ release.”
Prosecutors argued that because — as successful lawyers — the duo already had so much to lose, there was no way to ensure they’d abstain from criminal conduct.
But the appellate judges argued the lawyers’ lack of criminal records, strong ties to their communities, and the significant bonds their families signed all favored release.
Judge Jon Newman dissented, writing that the lawyers easily could have injured people nearby the cop car and that they were planning more attacks.
“Although [Rahman’s] target was property, people nearby were put at risk,” the dissenting judge wrote. “She also compounded her wrongdoing by offering bombs to others, whose targets she could anticipate might well have been bystanders. And the presence of one assembled bomb and bomb components in the car, including a can of gasoline, show that she and Mattis were prepared to continue their criminal conduct.”
As Mattis returned to his Brooklyn home Tuesday night, a friend who did not identify himself said, “We’re not giving any comments at this time.”
Rahman’s lawyer was elated.
“Urooj’s family and hundreds of supporters could not be more pleased with today’s decision that reunites her with her mother. It is the first step on the road to justice in this case,” said lawyer Paul Schectman.
With Anna Choi
