Brooklyn activist pleads guilty to setting fire to 11 NYPD vehicles

NEW YORK (AP) — A Brooklyn activist with a history of arrests at pro-Palestinian protests pleaded guilty Wednesday to setting fire to 11 empty police vehicles last summer.

Jakhi McCray, 22, admitted to the June 12 arson spree, which New York City police officials said caused $800,000 in damage to department vehicles.

He faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and up to two decades in prison when sentenced.

“By deliberately setting fire to multiple police vehicles in the pre-dawn hours, the defendant put at risk the lives of first responders and residents asleep in their beds nearby, and ultimately, strained resources meant to protect the community,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement Wednesday.

Prosecutors said McCray scaled a fence leading to a police parking lot in Brooklyn and proceeded to torch 10 NYPD vehicles and a trailer. He escaped through a hole in the fence after being spotted by an NYPD officer, but he left behind a cigar lighter and pair of sunglasses with his fingerprints, according to a complaint.

McCray turned himself into police a month later. At the time, he put out a statement decrying the harassment faced by others who spoke out “the genocide in Palestine and the kidnapping of migrants.” He said he had been arrested 12 times previously and was frequently lied about by the press and police.

An attorney for McCray, Ron Kuby, deferred comment to a collective of activists supporting McCray.

In a statement distributed Wednesday, the Support Committee for Jakhi McCray described him as a “dedicated organizer, activist, and community member whose work has touched countless lives.”