Hillsborough State Attorney Pursuing 260+ Charges Including Attacking Police and Looting

Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren on Friday announced that he will pursue over 260 charges connected to violent unrest on May 30, while he would be dropping charges against others.

The Tampa Bay Times reports:

Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren announced Friday he was dropping charges against several key anti-racism protest organizers. The county’s top prosecutor also announced he was pursuing more than 260 charges — including looting and attacking police — stemming from a night of civil unrest May 30. […] The news release says more than 120 people will be charged in connection to late May’s unrest. The charges also include burglary and theft as well as criminal mischief in connection to a vandalized police car.

According to the Tampa Police Department, around 23 businesses, including an AT&T store and Walmart, were looted during the late May evening of unrest.

ABC Action News also obtained footage of looters breaking into a Gold N Diamond. Police reports say at least five individuals were arrested for attempting to steal at least $50,000 in goods from the jewellery store. Officers also arrested multiple juveniles, including a 15-year-old-girl and a 16-year-old boy. Both were Tampa Bay residents.

Further, Warren has opted against pursuing charges against protesters behind a “Back the Blue” mural installed outside the Tampa Police Department.

“They’re being defunded and things that they need and require to do their job are not going to be provided anymore,” one of the mural’s organizers, Kristen Krutz, said in early August. “Obviously, that would make anybody feel unappreciated, unwanted, and that’s the opposite of what we wanted them to see with the mural on the street.”