SEATTLE — A man who brought an improvised homemade gun to a 2020 Seattle protest and threatened to kill police officers was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court.
Devinare Antwan Parker, 31, was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of a destructive device. According to court documents, Parker was arrested on May 31, 2020, after two Seattle Police Department officers encountered him walking down the middle of the street downtown, in violation of the temporary curfew.
Protests erupted in Seattle the last weekend of May over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Dozens were arrested May 30, 2020 prompting an early curfew through the weekend.
Upon searching Parker, the officers found an improvised firearm composed of two pieces of pipe and a firing pin with a laser pointer/flashlight attached to the side. Parker shouted at the officers as he was arrested that he brought the weapon to the protest to shoot and kill police officers.
After his arrest, the government says prosecutors worked with Parker's counsel to get him mental health treatment and resolve the case in King County's mental health court.
Parker repeatedly refused to participate, however, and violated the conditions of his release with illicit drug use and posting images on social media displaying marijuana use, large amounts of cash and apparent firearms parts.
“The government has struggled at length to reach a resolution in this case that would ensure community safety. For a long time, the government believed that this goal could be achieved through Mental Health Court. Parker’s mental illnesses and presumed addictions obviously present a danger to the community, and they may well have contributed to his offense. MHC offered an avenue for intensive oversight and supportive treatment to mitigate those risks. Unfortunately, it appeared that everyone wanted such a resolution except for Parker,” wrote Assistant United States Attorney Erin H. Becker to the court.
