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THE CHARGES STEMMED FROM A DEMONSTRATION SPARKED BY THE POLICE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD; DEFENDANT THREW TWO MOLOTOV COCKTAILS TOWARD POLICE OFFICERS; THE EVIDENCE DEFENDANT ENGAGED IN “TERRORISM” WAS LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT; SENTENCE REDUCED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, vacating defendant’s “terrorism” conviction and significantly reducing his sentence, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice McShan, determined the “attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer as a crime of terrorism” conviction was not supported by legally sufficient evidence. The charges stemmed from a demonstration sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. The demonstration turned violent and defendant was captured on video throwing two Molotov cocktails toward police officers:

… “[T]he statute must be applied only in a manner consistent with the unique meaning of the term terrorism by requiring proof of conduct aimed at influencing, as relevant here, government action” … . More specifically, that the conduct was taken with the intent to influence a policy. The term “policy,” undefined in the statute (see Penal Law § 490.05), is readily understood as “[a] standard course of action that has been officially established by an organization, business, political party” … . In that sense, the phrase “influence the policy of a unit of government” encompasses a different intent on the part of a defendant that is more specific to a defined policy … . This is all the more evident when considering the clause that follows, as the interference with law enforcement duties referenced by the People is more aptly characterized as conduct that would “affect the conduct of a unit of government,” which contains [*5]the additional requirement that it be accomplished “by murder, assassination or kidnapping” (Penal Law § 490.25 [1]). The import of this distinction is that the reference to “policy” utilized in Penal Law § 490.25 (1) requires more than a belief that the government is engaging in some form of misconduct; in this case, systemic racism or police brutality.

… [T]he fact that defendant was motivated by his animus toward law enforcement does not in turn establish that he was attempting to influence any policy, either defined or perceived. People v Parker, 2025 NY Slip Op 02108, Third Dept 4-10-25

Practice Point: Consult this decision for a discussion of the proof requirements for “terrorism” in the context “assault upon a police officer as a crime of terrorism.”

 

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