Most of you probably remember the tale of Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman, the two New York City lawyers who famously firebombed an NYPD police cruiser and handed out Molotov cocktails to the crowd during one of the BLM riots last year. They became instant celebrities among progressives and media elites, despite having put many lives in danger and causing significant arson damage. It’s been more than a year since the crime took place, and plea negotiations seem to have gone nowhere. When the charges were first filed (and the pair have never denied doing it), it was revealed that they could be facing life in prison. Whatever offers the prosecutors put on the table clearly weren’t good enough for the defendants because a federal judge has now set a trial date for early next year. (Free Beacon)

Two New York City Ivy League lawyers will stand trial in March 2022 for allegedly firebombing a police cruiser and distributing Molotov cocktails during the George Floyd riots last summer.

Defense lawyers for Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman have been in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors since February but have not come to terms, prompting U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to set a trial schedule for both defendants. Pretrial motions are due on Sept. 17 and jury selection will begin on March 14, 2022.

The accused enjoy widespread support and sympathy from New York’s legal and media elites. Rahman is represented by one of the city’s best defense attorneys, and a former Obama administration official guaranteed her bail in the amount of $250,000. Both have been the subject of favorable profiles in New York magazine and NPR, among other venues.

It’s still not a sure thing that these two will ever stand before a jury. I don’t know how they’ve managed to stonewall the process for this long, but there’s still plenty of time to cut a deal. Setting a trial date may have been a way for the judge to spur the defense along, in case they wanted to avoid a worst-case outcome. The pair were offered a plea deal in February, but have apparently turned it down.

If this case does go to trial, it will almost certainly turn into a media circus. You’ll recall that some of the most high-profile newspapers and cable news outlets described these two as “young and idealistic lawyers.” That really says a lot more about the state of our news media than the two firebombers themselves.

These two are facing charges of the use of explosives, arson, use of explosives to commit a felony, arson conspiracy, use of a destructive device, civil disorder, and making or possessing a destructive device. They were caught on film while engaging in these acts. One of them literally threw a Molotov cocktail into a police vehicle and the other was trying to hand out explosives to other rioters. One of them bragged about it on camera. Rahman was quoted as saying, “the only way they hear us is through violence.”

Are they seriously considering going in front of a jury and somehow thinking they might be found not guilty? Part of me wants to suggest they get a new lawyer immediately. But then again, we’re talking about New York City. Could the prosecutors actually find twelve people willing to find them guilty in Manhattan even after they basically confessed to everything? This will be one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the history of the country if they walk away free on all charges.

These two “idealistic lawyers” are domestic terrorists. That’s a term the left dearly loves to throw around a lot when talking about Trump supporters. But when it comes to BLM and Antifa terrorists, the silence is almost deafening.