According to court records, a federal grand jury has indicted Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters Lillian Colburn and Mercutio Southall for arson after the two reportedly set fire to a shopping cart in a crowded Walmart in August.
The two were among BLM protesters demanding "justice" after the officer-involved shooting of Jabari Peoples, which District Attorney Danny Carr ruled was justified after video evidence confirmed what the Homewood Police Department stated immediately following the tragic shooting—that the officer acted in self-defense and that Peoples was armed.
RELATED: Jabari Peoples shooting deemed 'justified'; Evidence shows he had gun in hand
The indictment states that the defendants, "each aided and abetted by the other, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, did maliciously damage and destroy, and attempt to damage and destroy, by means of fire, a building and other real and personal property used in interstate and foreign commerce and in activities affecting interstate and foreign commerce, to wit: the Walmart Supercenter store located at 209 Lakeshore Pkwy, Homewood, Alabama 35209, and store merchandise, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 844(i) and 2."
Colburn has a history of incendiary posts, including calls for others to "take revolutionary risks" and "make it dangerous." In one video, she said, "Non-violent protests only ever work if the government has a conscience and the United States has none."
RELATED: Second suspect in BLM arson arrested; Homewood Police working with ATF to pursue federal charges
Southall has a lengthy criminal history, which includes a December 2014 arrest in Homewood at the same Walmart after refusing to leave the property during a Black Lives Matter protest.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in 2015. He was also arrested and convicted of possessing a firearm at a demonstration in Montgomery County in 2016.
He is currently on probation for a 2024 police chase that, according to AL(dot)com, resulted in charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, second-degree possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and attempting to elude.
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