Texas Man Who Brought AR-15 to George Floyd Protest Planned to Shoot “MAGA Instigators”
Richard Moorhead
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An man who brought an AR-15 style rifle to a George Floyd protest in Lubbock, Texas allegedly threatened to shoot “MAGA Instigators.”
The Justice Department is charging 25-year old Emmanuel Quinones with communicating interstate threats. Quinones had brought the rifle, a Smith and Wesson .223(falsely reported as an automatic rifle) to a Floyd protest, and was arrested when some protestors became concerned that he was brandishing it in a threatening manner. The event was caught on video, and some had assumed that Quinones is a right-winger opposed to the protestors.
This just happened in Lubbock at our protest rally! Someone showed up with an automatic weapon. @LubbockPolice came in a helped take him down. #Lubbock #Texas #blm #BlackLivesMatter #rally #maga pic.twitter.com/cy7sfBA4Ty
— Mark Wilson (@themawilson) May 31, 2020
Quinones initially declined to drop his weapon in response to police commands, and only did so when a police officer drew his weapon. The 25-year old man claimed that “this is a revolution” and that “President Trump must die” after a protestor tackled him.
The Justice Department charge filing makes it clear Quinones is anything but. The Texas man had posted on Facebook about obtaining gun parts in order to “to off racists and MAGA people,” and admitting during an FBI investigation to making the posts, claiming that they were made in order to “intimidate President Trump and ‘MAGA instigators.'”
The FBI alleges that Quinones confessed to attending the protest in order to shoot potential MAGA instigators who showed up at the protest. He apparently believes that the law enforcement presence at the event would’ve been insufficient to deter supposed right-wing terrorists who would’ve sought to harm the George Floyd protestors.
Quinones made his initial court appearance on Tuesday in federal court. He could face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
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