Woman Charged for Throwing Lit Device at Metropolitan Police Officer

            WASHINGTON – Alanna Rogers, 26, of Baltimore, MD, was arraigned yesterday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on a criminal complaint charging her with felony assault on a police officer while armed and misdemeanor rioting based on her throwing a firework at police officers, burning the trousers of one police official, during a declared riot that took place on August 30 and carried over to August 31, 2020, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin.  Although Rogers was not charged when initially arrested on August 31, today’s charges are based on additional investigative work by the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            At today’s arraignment, the Honorable Judge Sean C. Staples found probable cause for the charges and agreed with the government that a presumption in favor of detention applied in this case.  The court released Rogers, however, after finding that the presumption was rebutted by her lack of criminal history.  The court ordered Rogers to stay away from the 800 and 900 blocks of Sixteenth Street, N.W., and not to possess fireworks.

            A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

            In addition to the Rogers case, last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed charges against two other individuals for rioting.  One defendant was charged with misdemeanor rioting, in United States v. Wu, Crim. No. 2020-CMD-006839, for his conduct on August 30-31.  The other was charged with misdemeanor destruction of property, defacing property, and misdemeanor rioting, in United States v. Powell, Crim. No. 2020-CMD-006862, for his conduct on August 14.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to review additional evidence presented by MPD and will bring additional charges as warranted by the evidence.