Kenosha arson defendant says men dressed like soldiers provided flammable liquid to spread fire at car dealership during protests
Bruce VielmettiFederal prosecutors have charged two more Minnesota men with participating in arsons and looting in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake two years ago.
The latest defendants join at least four others already charged who drove to Kenosha from the Twin Cities in a caravan, according to court records.
A complaint in the new case presents the fullest narrative yet of the roles the Twin Cities group played in major acts of violence, including torching a car dealership very near to the courthouse.
One co-defendant told investigators that white men dressed like soldiers provided the flammable liquid used to amplify the fire at Car Source. The burned-out bodies of dozens of cars became a main image in national news coverage of the rioting.
Two face charges in new complaint about Kenosha violence
Anthony Clay, 24, and Antoine Eubanks, 30, each face charges of conspiring to defraud the United States and commit a drug burglary.
The pair were charged in a sealed complaint in April. Upon their indictment Tuesday, the complaint was unsealed. The 29-page document by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent Rick Hankins lays out the following:
Clay, Eubanks, Allen King, David Garner, Kevin Martinez and others drove to Kenosha from Minnesota on Aug. 24, the day after Kenosha erupted in protest and violence over the police shooting of Blake.
King, Eubanks and Martinez appeared to be wearing matching red Tom & Jerry cartoon T-shirts, according to Facebook photos posted in the complaint.
King, Garner and Martinez were charged a year ago with conspiracy to steal and transport stolen goods. King and Garner face arson charges as well, and Martinez is charged with possessing ammunition as a felon.
The caravan of four cars arrived about 9:30 p.m. Aug. 24 and parked behind the Stella Hotel, across from Civic Center Park where the protests started on Sunday.
After his arrest at home in Minnetonka, Minnesota, last year, Garner filled in the story for agents. He told them who rode in which cars to Wisconsin, that he'd helped start one fire and that his group looted a drug store.
Fire started at Car Source auto dealer
Garner said they were all just protesting when they first arrived in Kenosha, but King started "breaking stuff," and broke into some car dealerships to try to steal cars. Then King started some fires with a flammable liquid he got from white men with guns dressed like soldiers.
According to Garner, other men had already started a fire inside Car Source when he and King went inside and King sprayed the flammable liquid around, causing the fire to grow.
Next, the group moved several blocks north and west to Charlie's 10th Hole bar, at 3805 22nd Ave. Someone shot at their group, Garner told agents, and then either King or Martinez fired back with a gun they shared during the trip. Garner sprayed the accelerant on the exterior of the bar.
Surveillance video shows Garner starting the fire. A few minutes later, King is seen throwing a flaming object into the bar.
Minutes earlier, around 11:30 p.m., more than a dozen people looted a CVS store across the street from Charlie's 10th Hole. Most had fled by the time police arrived, but one, Jacquan Moore, was arrested in the store. He was charged in state court with burglary and sentenced last year to 15 months in prison.
Garner told agents he took Hennessy cognac from the CVS and that Clay took drugs.
By early on the 25th, the group — minus Moore — appeared headed back to Minneapolis, according to various Facebook posts that also offered looted items like cigarettes, prescription pain pills and cough medicine for sale.
On the third night of unrest in Kenosha, Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, fatally shot two protesters and wounded a third. He was later acquitted of homicide and other charges after a jury decided he acted in self-defense.
RELATED:Man who burned Kenosha furniture store during 2020 riots gets 3 1/3 years in prison
Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.