WORCESTER, Mass. — A Worcester man is being charged with civil disorder and possession of several Molotov cocktails during a demonstration in the city over the death of George Floyd, officials said.
In a news release, United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said 18-year-old Vincent Eovacious “attempted to obstruct or interfere with law enforcement officers” by bringing the Molotov cocktails to a peaceful protest on June 1.
Eovacious was arrested Wednesday after being released on bond following state charges, including possession of an incendiary device.
“The right to protest is not the right to hurt police officers and destroy property,” said Lelling. “According to the complaint, this self-proclaimed anarchist built Molotov cocktails – homemade firebombs – to use during a demonstration honoring George Floyd. We will aggressively prosecute anyone who pursues violence under cover of peaceful protest.”
Authorities say Eovacious, a self-proclaimed anarchist, built the Molotov cocktails and intended on throwing them at police officers at the protest.
The demonstration, which started out peacefully, took a violent turn later in the night.
Officials say a crowd gathered in many locations across Worcester to protest Floyd’s death, including at South Main Street.
According to charging documents, at around 10 p.m., a large crowd blocked traffic and began throwing objects at police officers. One officer noticed a man in a trench coat standing on top of a building who had been allegedly yelling at the crowd below to kill the officers and kept pacing back and forth on the building’s rooftop.
That man was later identified as Eovacious.
The same officer then noticed Eovacious pull out a glass bottle and tried stuffing a rag inside the bottle while holding what looked like a lighter. He was later stopped by officials who found three glass bottles containing a liquid that smelled like gasoline, five white rags and two lighters.
Eovacious told officers that the liquid in the glass bottles was gasoline and that he was “with the anarchist group” and was “waiting for an opportunity.”
He is set to appear in Worcester Federal Court on Thursday.
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