Prosecutors: Man who allegedly shot protesters is charged

The men have not been charged with hate crimes.

Prosecutors faced a deadline Monday to file charges against four men arrested last week after shots were fired at people in Minneapolis protesting the shooting of a black man by police.

Police say five men between the ages of 19 and 43 were shot in the November 23 attack, which happened just half a block away from the police precinct where dozens of protesters have been camped since the November 15 fatal shooting of Jamar Clark.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators learned that at least one of the suspects had gotten into an argument with the Black Lives Matter protesters on another occasion.

Twenty-three-year-old Allen “Lance” Scarsella of Lakeville was charged with one count of second-degree riot and five counts of second-degree assault. Scarsella, Gustavsson, and Backman are white, police said, while Macey is Asian. The criminal complaints filed for these three men state that they were armed with firearms and disturbed the peace.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that, while the crimes were overtly racist in nature, none of the suspects were charged with hate crimes because in Minnesota, hate crimes are considered a gross misdemeanor, and the assault and rioting charges carry more serious penalties. Ringleader Scarsella confessed to his girlfriend that he shot five people.

Nathan Gustavsson, 21; and Daniel Macey, 26, were apprehended last week.

Protesters say they’ll stay outside the 4th Precinct until all video of the shooting is released and the case is stopped from being presented to a grand jury, which, protesters say, typically exonerate police in fatal shooting cases. The men have not been charged with hate crimes.

In a letter posted on her website, Hodges said that the continuous fires are polluting the air and emergency vehicles and snow plows can’t access the occupied Plymouth Avenue.

About 1 o’clock the next morning, a police officer [identified in other court documents as being from the Mankato Police Department] said Scarsella told him he shot five people near the police station. Several guns and ammunition were recovered at the residence, including a 45 caliber handgun consistent with the type of discharged cartridge casings found at the shooting scene.

Minnesota state police and the FBI are investigating Clark’s shooting. A federal civil rights investigation is also underway.

Levy-Pounds says it is “frustrating” to have Mayor Betsy Hodges stand with “so-called established black leadership” in calling for an end to the occupation outside the 4th Precinct.

Bail has been set at $500,000 for Scarsella, according to Hennepin County Jail records.

The campaigners also said that police said to them “isn’t this what you wanted” after the shooting, and used mace on people tending to the wounded.

The officer also said Scarsella had “very intense opinions”, including opinions about being a sovereign citizen and pro-Constitution.