Three suspects in Oklahoma face terrorism charges in connection with recent civil unrest in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater announced the terror charges on Friday. In comments he shared with The Oklahoman, Prater said “This is not Seattle, we’re not putting up with this lawlessness here.”
Isael Antonio Ortiz, 21, of Welch was charged in two terror cases. The first criminal complaint charges Ortiz with burning an Oklahoma County sheriff’s van, while the second charge alleges he attempted to burn a bail bonds business.
Prater also charged Eric Christopher Ruffin, 26, of Oklahoma City in the police van burning incident.
Malachai Davis, 18, of Edmond, also faces terror charges in connection with the attack on the bail bonds business. He was identified as a suspect after video purported to show Davis with brass knuckles on a bloody hand. He is accused of breaking the bail bonds shop’s windows with the brass knuckles.
In addition to terror charges, Prater also announced charges for riots and assaults, The Oklahoman reported.
The Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office also provided American Military News with copies of charging documents against Saxon Weber, who they charge attacked a law enforcement officer on May 30. Weber was also charged with possession of a firearm and body armor while committing the attack.
Two other men, James Holt and Adam Hayhurst, were also charged with rioting in another document shared with American Military News. Holt and Hayhurst are accused, alongside others in a crowd, of having thrown objects at a protest on May 31. Deshayla Dixon and Daniel Ray Dickerson were also charged in connection with the same rioting incident.
Prater’s comments about Seattle, Wash. appear to refer to lax policing employed in the city around the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), also known as the Capitol Hill Occupational Protest (CHOP). Police initially abandoned a precinct in Seattle, making way for activists to take over a six-block area.
President Donald Trump initially denounced the occupational protest in Seattle and called for Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to restore law and order in the occupied neighborhood. Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan both denounced Trump and allowed the occupational protest to continue.
The occupational protests were allowed to persist for a couple of weeks despite reports of problems and the inability of the police to effectively enter the area.
On Monday, June 22, Durkan announced police would return to the occupational protest zone following a fatal shooting and others injured by gunfire over the prior weekend.
Prater, in contrast to Seattle, indicated he was purposefully pursuing the charges in a tough approach to deter future problems stemming from demonstrations and civil unrest.
