Got Him! Portland Rioter Who Allegedly Threw Explosive at Courthouse Gets Nailed by Feds, Thanks to His Grandmother

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
AP featured image
A demonstrator kicks back a tear gas canister back at federal officers during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse Wednesday, July 29, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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You may recall this story of a guy who threw a pretty high-powered explosive at the federal courthouse in Portland.

My colleague Sister Toldjah covered the story here.

But here’s the problem, he violated that basic rule about wearing “black bloc” attire to make it harder to identify him. Just like the guy in the orange coveralls who got caught because of he deviated when he threw an IED. This kid who allegedly threw this explosive was wearing a very distinctive plastic vest.

In fact he was seen protecting a woman who paraded naked in front of federal agents while holding a shield and wearing the vest.

What apparently nailed him, though? His grandmother apparently bought the vest for him and posted a review about it with his picture in the review and the note that he wore it while “protesting.”

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Well, that was enough for the cops to track him down.

Federal agents arrested him and today, Gabriel Agard-Berryhill, 18, was charged with using fire to maliciously damage the courthouse, the DOJ announcement said.

“No legitimate protest message is advanced by throwing a large explosive device against a government building. Mr. Agard-Berryhill’s actions could have gravely injured law enforcement officers positioned near the courthouse, other protesters standing nearby, or himself,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “I applaud the ATF agents and U.S. Marshals Service deputies who worked quickly to identify Mr. Agard-Berryhill before he had an opportunity to hurt others.”

“The violent opportunists engaged in dangerous acts of violence, such as arson, need to realize there will be grave consequences,” said Russel Burger, U.S. Marshal for the District of Oregon. “Serious crimes of this nature go beyond mere property damage to the courthouse and endanger people’s lives.”

The ATF picked up on the social media clues about the vest and him protecting the naked woman. They also found Grandma’s review on the vest.

Investigators also found a post on Twitter depicting a product review for the vest. The review included a photo of a person wearing the vest who matched the description of the person seen throwing the explosive device. The review states “I got this [vest] for my grandson who’s a protestor [sic] downtown, he uses it every night and says its [sic] does the job.” Investigators later found the same photo on a Facebook page and, using law enforcement databases, were able to positively identify Agard-Berryhill.

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He could get up to 20 years for this, if convicted, with a minimum of five years.

Doesn’t look as enthused as when he threw the explosive, does he?

Moral of the story? Grandmas? Don’t buy tactical vests for your grandsons to wear to the riots.

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