Woman threw Molotov cocktail into police van to ‘cause some hell’ at protest, feds say

A protester who threw a Molotov cocktail into a police vehicle to “cause some hell” was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday, Nov. 15, according to federal officials.

Samantha Shader, now 29, traveled from upstate New York to Brooklyn in May 2020 to attend a demonstration to protest the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York stated in a news release.

She invited a man from her town to “go down to the City to cause some hell,” according to officials, and obtained multiple glass bottles from him to be used as projectiles.

It’s not clear who fashioned the Molotov cocktail, which is typically made using a glass bottle, flammable fluid and a cloth fuse, according to the Lieber Institute at West Point.

During the protest in Brooklyn, Shader lit the fuse of one of the incendiary devices before lobbing it at a police van while four officers were inside, officials said. She then shouted for protestors near the vehicle to “GET OUT THE (expletive) WAY!”

The projectile shattered two of the van’s windows, but did not ignite, officials said. The officers inside then exited the vehicle and arrested Shader, who, in an attempt to resist, bit one of them on the leg.

Shader pleaded guilty in April to the charge of throwing the flammable device at police officers, and was sentenced to 72 months, or six years, in prison, according to officials.

During her sentencing hearing, Shader said, “I want to apologize to everybody. I want to apologize to the police...I apologize to my family,” according to NBC New York.

“What I did was wrong and disrespectful,” she added, according to the outlet. “I hope you can forgive me. And everyone else there.”

An attorney for Shader could not immediately be reached by McClatchy News.

The man who provided Shader with glass bottles was later tracked down by law enforcement and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit civil disorder, officials said. He has not yet been sentenced.

In the wake of Floyd’s death in 2020, over 10,000 protesters across the nation, including 2,000 in New York, were arrested, according to the Associated Press.

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