Biography
Colinford Mattis, 32, attorney, with Urooj Rahman attempted to use Molotov cocktails to damage NYPD vehicles during the May 31, 2020 Brooklyn protests. Pleaded guilty; 12 months federal prison.
In a December 17, 2021, letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rashida Tlaib, Dwight Evans, and Seth Moulton cited the prosecution of Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman as an example of what they considered disproportionate use of terrorism sentencing enhancements. The lawmakers asked the Justice Department to review potential discrimination in pending cases and publish clearer data on enhancement requests. This was congressional criticism of prosecutorial policy, not a court ruling on the legality of this prosecution. Source: https://aflegal.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/21110235/3-31-Final-Response-Package.pdf (PDF pages 51–53).
The Second Circuit’s June 30, 2020 opinion records Mattis’s May 30 arrest, an actual bond release to home detention, and subsequent remand at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after a June 5 stay. It affirmed the bail decision; that appellate ruling alone does not establish his later physical discharge. The early detention was interrupted rather than continuous.
