A man charged with damaging several police cars during a recent George Floyd protest in Miami claims to be part of a group that purposely encourages violence at such demonstrations.
Miami Police arrested 21-year-old Marco Lopez on Saturday, after an investigation that lasted for several days.
According to authorities, Lopez confessed to breaking the back window of a Miami police cruiser with his skateboard during a protest on the night of Saturday, May 30.
They say he also admitted to damaging the rear bumper of a second police vehicle, and to spray painting a third.
Detectives have been investigating the vandalisms to several vehicles and businesses that occurred on Saturday, May 30, 2020.
Yesterday, we arrested Marco Antonio Lopez and he has been charged with 2 counts of Criminal Mischief, Incite To Riot, and Resisting Officer w/o Violence. pic.twitter.com/UQ8XP6HPMK— Miami PD (@MiamiPD) June 7, 2020
Lopez claims to belong to a group called the “Southern Slaves,” which he told officers “actively recruits people to violently protest the government.”
Officers were able to identify him by investigating videos of the protests posted on social media and comparing them to his own profile photo.
The arrest report states that Lopez told interviewing officers, “Walking around the city won’t do anything, sooner or later you have to turn to violence.”