A Galesburg man is going to prison for setting a fire in Minneapolis last summer. Twenty-nine year old Matthew Rupert was convicted of arson for setting a store on fire in the days following the murder of George Floyd by police.
According to the US Attorney's Office, Rupert traveled more than 400 miles "to riot" and was seen on video handing out large fireworks and encouraging violence against law enforcement.
The arson charge stems from a fire at a Minneapolis cell phone store. During the city-wide protests following Floyd's death, the U.S. Attorney says Rupert asked for lighter fluid and then entered a boarded-up Sprint store. As he fled the building after starting the fire, Rupert reportedly said: "I lit it on fire!"
Rupert was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
