Tacoma woman sentenced to 5 years in prison for setting Seattle police cars on fire during 2020 protests

A 26-year-old Tacoma woman was sentenced Tuesday for setting five Seattle Police Department cars on fire during the protests in downtown Seattle in May 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

The United States Attorney’s Office for Western the District of Washington announced in a release that Margaret Aislinn Channon was sentenced to five years in prison. 

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Riots, looting, cars set ablaze in downtown Seattle chaos after protests

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a 5 p.m. curfew for the entire city Saturday and Washingon Gov. Jay Inslee activated the National Guard after rioters torched police vehicles and spilled onto Interstate 5, forcing the freeway’s temporary closure through the central part of the Northwest’s largest city.

"The right to protest, gather, and call out injustices is one of the dearest and most important rights we enjoy in the United States," said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. 

Investigators said Channon was arrested June 11, 2020 following an investigation by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Seattle Police Department. 

The Department of Justice said Channon was seen in videos from the protest in downtown Seattle setting fire to several patrol cars with a blowtorch and aerosol cans.

Investigators identified Channon based on her clothing and tattoos, seen in the video.

At the sentencing hearing. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said Channon’s actions had done "tremendous damage to Black Lives Matter in Seattle."

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Tacoma woman pleads guilty to setting Seattle police cars on fire

A Tacoma woman pleaded guilty Tuesday for burning five Seattle police cars during the George Floyd protests in May 2020.

Prosecutors noted in their sentencing memo, "hundreds of people were standing in the vicinity of the police cars that Channon burned, some only a few feet away. All of them were in harm’s way if one of the vehicles had exploded."

According to records filed in the case, she was also seen entering multiple stores and stealing clothes, admitted to smashing the window at a Verizon store and going into a sandwich shop where she destroyed an electronic cash register. 

"This case is an example of the FBI’s commitment to investigating domestic terrorism cases, no matter what their motivations may be," said Donald M. Voiret, Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office. "The FBI believes in the peaceful expression of free speech, and Channon committed acts of violence and destruction, endangered other people, and distracted from and escalated demonstrations."

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SeattleTacomaCrime and Public SafetyDowntown Seattle