ST. LOUIS – Charges have been filed against a man for attempting to set fire to police headquarters during a protest in downtown St. Louis.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the fire happened on the evening of Sept. 23, 2020.
The protests, organized in the hours after it was announced that no Louisville police officer would face charges tied to Taylor’s death, began in downtown around 7 p.m.
Just after 9 p.m., the demonstrators marched to St. Louis City Hall. Police claim the demonstrators breached a series of protective barricades around the building.
A group then walked to police headquarters in the 1900 block of Olive Street, where they attempted to remove barricades protecting the front doors.
Some in the crowd started piling debris near the front doors and using accelerant to set an office chair ablaze. Police claim Davy Jia, 29, and others pushed a chair against the entrance while the building was occupied, and that Jia added another chair to the existing fire.
Police claim to have used RTCC footage showing Jia arrive in the area prior to the protests in a silver Ford Fusion and then join in the march to police headquarters. The vehicle was registered to Jia.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Jia with one count of first-degree arson. A no-bond arrest warrant was issued on April 1.
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