Four Men Charged in Federal Court for Attempting to Tear Down Statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square Amid Protests

WASHINGTON – Lee Michael Cantrell, 47, of Virginia; Connor Matthew Judd, 20, of Washington, D.C.; Ryan Lane, 37, of Maryland; and Graham Lloyd, 37, of Maine, were charged by criminal complaint yesterday with destruction of federal property, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division James A. Dawson, and Acting Chief of the United States Park Police (USPP) Gregory T. Monahan.

The complaint, unsealed today, alleges that on June 22, 2020, the four men along with other unidentified individuals, damaged and attempted to tear down the statue depicting Andrew Jackson located in Lafayette Square. The complaint further alleges that Cantrell was captured on video attempting to pry the statue off its base with a wooden board and trying to pull the statue down with the aid of a yellow strap. The complaint alleges that Judd is seen on video trying to pull down the statue, and that Lane is seen on video affixing a rope to one part of the statue and then pulling on another rope tied to the statue. The complaint also alleges that video of the incident shows Lloyd as he breaks off and destroys the wheels of cannons located at the base of the statue. Lloyd is also captured on video pulling on ropes in an effort to topple the statue, and handing a hammer to an unidentified individual involved in the incident.

Judd was arrested on Friday and appeared in Superior Court of the District of Columbia today. The matter will be transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, June 29, 2020, where Judd will make his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather. The remaining defendants have not yet been apprehended.

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

“The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will not stand idly by and allow our national monuments to be vandalized and destroyed. This Office remains steadfast in its commitment to protect the sacred First Amendment right of individuals to peacefully protest, but these charges should serve as a warning to those who choose to desecrate the statues and monuments that adorn our nation’s capital: your violent behavior and criminal conduct will not be tolerated,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin.

“The FBI respects the peaceful exercise of First Amendment rights, but we will not allow opportunists to hijack peaceful protests to incite violence and destruction of property,” said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “We will continue to work with our partners to enforce federal laws prohibiting damage to government facilities and property.”

“Members of the United States Park Police are working tirelessly to provide quality law enforcement, safeguard lives, protect our national treasures and symbols of democracy, and preserve the natural and cultural resources entrusted to its service. We are committed to ensuring that citizens are able to freely exercise their constitutional rights in a safe and peaceful manner. The deplorable acts of violence and destruction of property are unacceptable and will continue to be pursued through ongoing collaborative investigations and enforcement efforts,” said Gregory T. Monahan, Acting Chief of the United States Park Police.

In announcing the charges, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin, Special Agent in Charge Dawson, and Acting Chief Monahan commended the work of the FBI agents and USPP officers who apprehended the four men and are investigating the incident. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gilead Light, Sara Vanore, and Laura Crane of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

This joint investigation was conducted by the United States Park Police and the FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force. Significant assistance was also provided by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. The Violent Crime Task Force is charged with investigating acts of violence impacting the District of Columbia. Tips associated with this matter or other acts of violence can be reported to the FBI at 202-278-2000 or tips.fbi.gov.

Jenifer Lloyd
June 23 at 10:24 PM ·
This is my eldest son, Graham. He has been in Washington DC demonstrating for 2 1/2 weeks, after demonstrating here in Portland, Maine during the first week following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Graham is 37, he is a professional, he is married. He works with intellectually and developmentally disabled adults. During off-work hours he takes calls from the individuals he serves in order to support them emotionally and psychologically, for 2 or 3 hours each day without remuneration, because he cares. His clients adore him, and his colleagues call him “truly gifted at what he does.” He and his wife Brooke are best friends, and inseparable. They literally spend all their non-working time together, and I notice that they laugh - out loud - a lot. (We should all be so fortunate). Graham is a terrific brother to my younger son Avery (They are great brothers to each other, something I have long admired), and Graham is godfather to Avery’s first child, my only grandson, Rolando age 18 months. Rolando loves “unca” very much, and Graham is quick to scoop him up into his arms or to place him up on his shoulder. Graham has been MY rock during the past 18 months, while I’ve gone through a series of extensive and incapacitating surgeries, a life threatening infection, and have been navigating difficult treatments and long and arduous physical rehabilitation. No doubt I’d have lost my income and my home last year, had he and Brooke not stepped in to support me, to manage my household, and to do my job as well as their own. I’ve been coming along slowly, but I was leaning more heavily upon Graham again during the Covid-19 outbreak, because I am medically fragile. I offer this description to give you a little bit of an idea about the man, but there are truly not adequate words.

Now, here’s something more. Graham and I are white, but Avery, Rolando, and Brooke, are all people of color - Avery and Rolando biracial African and European Americans, and Brooke a multiracial African, European, and Native American card carrying member of the Cherokee Nation.

Some are asking what White Americans are sacrificing. What are we giving and risking in order to do something about the plight of people of color in the United States? What are we doing to remedy the long standing injustice they face and abuses they endure? THESE ARE VALID QUESTIONS.

The short answer for this family is EVERYTHING. h u m b l y, we recognize that our “everything” is but one drop among many drops of varied sizes and forms. Initially, I share with you about our “WHAT”, only because you asked. Yet, as I write, I find it cathartic. That energizes me, gives clarity, and bolsters my stamina and resolve. So, thank you for asking. Another thing. Inside myself a small hope emerged that perhaps my sharing might spur other white people to contemplate their own hearts and situations and to squeeze a little of their life blood into a drop, too.

ONE of our members has left wife, work, family, home-and-all-its-comforts and travelled across the country to our nation’s capitol in order to join the frontlines of the battle for our nation’s soul. He is willing to sacrifice, potentially, his freedom and his life. The REST of us are left with a gaping hole in our daily lives and with the possibility of his arrest or death (injury is a given), and we are willing to give that. ALL of us are willing to do without; we are willing to endure hardship; we are willing to give our lives and risk our well being in a variety of ways; and we are willing to have this be hard to do. We are willing to band together as people of all colors and races, as a family. One that supports each other with love and dedication, and is but a microcosm of the human reality. We are doing this indefinitely, for as long as it’s needed - and we know that this is a marathon.

It has taken me some time to write this answer. It’s taken time, because I am overwrought. I am overwrought with the pain of this long suffering nation. I am overwrought with love for my fellow humanity. I am overwrought by fear for the well being of my children, and with admiration for the strength of their characters. I am downtrodden by my frustration with the sluggishness of this American democracy to actualize. This is not the America I was promised as a child of the 60’s - an era of vision and ideals and righteousness. And, yet, I am inspired to find hope. I am inspired by my sons, and their partners, and their peers, and by their collective RESPONSIVENESS.

This photo of Graham was taken yesterday, June 23rd, on his wedding anniversary. Yesterday Graham sacrificed a romantic anniversary celebration with Brooke. Yesterday Graham forwent congratulation calls and cards from friends and family. YESTERDAY, Graham was pepper sprayed several times, and he was batoned. I saw video, and he was limping. Yesterday, I worried, like only a mother can, carrying my son’s heart-in-my-heart, and I prayed. I know the rest of our family did the same. Graham is our front man, yet we are a band, united in our resolve, and committed in our willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of this country. We are standing up, speaking out, resisting, and PROTESTING the shortcomings of our United States government and the unjust systems it erected in order to establish itself and its economy. Injustice it has been content to sustain for hundreds of years. We are demonstrating and persisting and INSISTING that the United States government make changes, correct its mistakes, redistribute power with equality among its citizens; and WE ARE DEMANDING: FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

In the news interview from which this photo was taken, Graham challenges those who question the changes that need to be made, “Do you want to celebrate a past of hatred, instead of building a future of love?” This. Is my son, Graham.

*note: this photo and the interview were taken on the evening of June 22nd; I watched the live feeds of the protesting until 3am on the 23rd, because catching glimpses of Graham let me know he was okay. Therefore, Graham was actually pepper sprayed, batoned, and interviewed on the Eve of his Anniversary. Also, I forgot the hashtags (I’m learning). So, here you go:
#BlackLivesMatter #MyBrothersKeeper #accomplicenotally #DefundPolice #confederatestatues See Less

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