AUSTIN, Texas — A federal criminal complaint has been filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, charging a 25-year-old Cedar Park man with constructing and possessing a Molotov cocktail during a protest in Austin last week.
The complaint charges Cyril Laurence Lartigue with one count of possessing an unregistered destructive device. The complaint states that on the evening of May 30, video cameras captured Lartigue making a destructive device in the parking lot directly adjacent to the Austin Municipal Court entrance. While making the device, the complaint states that Lartigue was interrupted by the oncoming presence of Austin police officers heading in his direction.
Lartigue fled the area, leaving the device behind, but returned to retrieve it minutes later, the complaint states. Afterward, Austin police officers arrested him after locating him inside a portable toilet nearby where he had changed clothes. Officers found materials used to make an explosive device inside his backpack, including a bottle containing lighter fluid, a butane lighter and cloth rags.
If convicted, Lartigue faces up to 10 years in prison. He is currently in federal custody.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department and Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating this incident.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING:
