PHILADELPHIA — A federal indictment charging a prominent West Philadelphia activist and two others with setting police cars on fire during racial injustice protests this spring were unsealed Thursday, drawing a swift response from protesters and lawyers who questioned the nature and timing of their arrests.
The filing, though sparse on details, alleges Anthony Smith — a social studies teacher and one of the lead organizers of the Philadelphia Coalition for Racial and Economic Legal Justice (Philly for REAL Justice) — was involved in burning a police vehicle during demonstrations outside City Hall on May 30 in reaction to the police killing of George Floyd.
But the document does not indicate whether prosecutors believe Smith, 29, actually set the blaze or assisted those who did or whether they have evidence to suggest he was working in coordination with the other two men charged — Carlos Matchett, 30, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Khalif Miller, 25, of Philadelphia — or any wider group.
In a separate case, a fourth man — Ayoub Tabri, 24, of Arlington, Virginia — was accused of using a road flare to set fire to a Pennsylvania State Police car parked near the intersection of Broad and Vine streets that same day.
All four face arson charges that carry a seven-year mandatory minimum sentence upon conviction. They have also been charged with obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder — under a rarely used before this year civil disorder statute that was enacted during the Nixon administration's efforts to crack down on anti-war and Black Power movements in the late 1960s. Smith, Matchett and Miller remain in custody pending court appearances. Tayoub, FBI agents said, remains at large.
"Mayhem does not bring justice; it accomplished nothing," U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said at a news conference announcing the cases. "If you are a protester trying to communicate a legitimate message, engaging in mayhem obscures that message (and) also turns public opinion against that message."
The arrest of Smith and his two codefendants Wednesday — just days from a presidential election in which race and social justice issues have become dominant themes and amid a second wave of tense demonstrations ignited by the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. — quickly drew criticism from their lawyers and fellow activists.
Smith's attorney, Paul Hetznecker, balked at what he described as "the blatant political nature of this prosecution," noting that his client was arrested less than a week before Election Day for crimes that allegedly occurred five months ago.
"Utilizing the awesome power of the federal government to target activists and select them for federal prosecution during one of the most important social justice movements in our history sends a dangerous message," he said. "The prosecution of my client, Anthony Smith, a respected teacher and political activist, is part of a broader effort by this administration to criminalize and quell dissent expressed by progressive political movements."
Smith's friends and fellow organizers with Philly for REAL Justice, which rose to prominence in 2016 with its calls for the removal of the controversial Frank Rizzo statue outside of the Municipal Services Building in Center City, flooded social media with posts about the case using the hashtag #FreeAnt.
"After two nights of mass arrests and police brutality against community members calling for justice for Walter Wallace, seeing federal charges brought against a movement leader like Anthony is sickening," Smith's friend James Miles said. "All this makes you wonder, 'Is the federal government arresting and charging movement leaders to try to scare the rest of us?'"
But McSwain brusquely dismissed such criticism saying federal investigations "take as long as they take" and insisted that those who viewed the case as politically timed or an attempt to target Smith or his advocacy were mistaken.
"We are not in any way trying to intimidate, scare, or stop, peaceful protests," he said. "And if anyone makes that allegation, that's just nonsense. What we are going to do is enforce the law. "
Since May when Floyd's death in Minneapolis sparked demonstrations across the country, Attorney General William Barr has urged U.S. attorneys to pursue cases against "violent rioters" using specific charges like the ones deployed against Smith, Matchett and Miller on Thursday.
Nationwide, federal prosecutors have lodged more than 300 felony cases against defendants espousing both progressive and right-wing ideologies connected to the demonstrations, with 20 of them in Pennsylvania, according to research by The Prosecution Project, which has tracked protest-related arrests.
In June, FBI agents arrested Germantown massage therapist Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, alleging she set fire to two police cars parked outside City Hall during the same demonstration during which Smith, Matchett and Miller are accused of committing crimes.
