Activist charged in plot to firebomb police
Alleged plot followed Sherman Park unrest
Milwaukee community activist Vaun Mayes was charged Monday with plotting to firebomb a Milwaukee police station in the aftermath of civil unrest in parts of the Sherman Park neighborhood in 2016.
Mayes, 31, faces federal counts of attempted arson, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a destructive device, which carries a 30-year minimum mandatory sentence upon conviction.
According to the charges, a Molotov cocktail — a homemade firebomb — is considered a firearm and cannot be legally possessed by a felon. Mayes was convicted of driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent in 2005.
He was arrested Monday, made an initial court appearance and was ordered detained until a hearing Thursday.
Days after the worst of the unrest, police found 10 Molotov cocktails in a trash bin at an address on Sherman Boulevard. On Aug. 29, 2016, federal agents had identified Mayes as a person of interest and searched his residence. They found drinks in the same containers as those used in the firebombs.
During a search of another apartment the next day, agents found ripped fabric like the wicks in the bottles, partially empty gas cans and a nozzle, and more bottles like those used in the recovered bombs.
According to the complaint, an informant told police that Mayes and others met at the burned-down BP gas station at the heart of the unrest and discussed firebombing the District 7 office of the Milwaukee Police Department.
Another informant told investigators that Mayes brought gasoline and empty bottles to the residence where police had found the bomb materials and was actively making the Molotov cocktails.
Some of those with Mayes — who ran a youth program called Program
the Park — began organizing youths in the area for the planned firebombing, which was ultimately called off because some of the organizers were concerned too many people knew about it, the complaint says.
Another source told police in February 2017 that some 20 people were present for the bomb-making. A third source said he was also there and saw Mayes helping make the bombs, according to the complaint.
Indeed, even the police appeared to know, as a scout reported that police were on the roof of District 7, apparently preparing to defend or dissuade any possible attack.
The charges also refer to social media videos Mayes posted at the time of the Sherman Park violence. In one, he’s seen walking near the scene on Aug. 14, 2016, saying the unrest had “turned into Baltimore. It turned into Ferguson. And it was necessary.”
The Milwaukee Police Department declined to comment on the charges, referring questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“We’re hoping this arrest will bring us one step closer in holding individuals responsible for the violence and disorder back in 2016,” U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger said in a news release.
Program the Parks
Mayes, an activist who had protested police actions before, began working in the park before the fatal police shooting of Sylville Smith in 2016.
His work was prompted when a video surfaced online that appeared to show police kicking teens out of the park. He and Gabriel Taylor, a friend who also lived in Sherman Park, spent a day walking around the area. They saw fights, heard cursing and watched the general disruption.
They started “Program the Parks” as a response — offering free food, getting teens jobs raking leaves or shoveling snow and organizing activities such as dance contests, movie screenings and karate. Over the past two years, the group has given away book bags to kids for back to school.
On March 22, the Milwaukee County Board unanimously agreed to pay $37,000 to Program the Parks to provide youth programming at Sherman Park between May 1 and Dec. 31 of this year.
On Monday, Taylor wrote a public Facebook post about Mayes’ arrest.
“They came under the pretense of having a package so we thought it was some of his electronic devices he didn’t get back from the last time,” she wrote. “But when he opened the door, they all swooped in outta nowhere and took him outside.”
Several days of violent unrest after the shooting left eight businesses burned near Sherman Park and in a second area around District 7, at West Fond du Lac Avenue near North 35th Street, with damage estimated at $5.8 million. Several of the businesses were looted before the fires were started.
At least four people were charged in the looting of the buildings, and one man was charged last year with participating in a riot by setting fire to Big Jim’s Liquor store.
Stephen Ruffin is fighting those charges. Pending are motions to dismiss two of the three counts, and one to suppress evidence of where his cellphone was located during the crime.