By John Annese
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — A pro-Palestine, anti-ICE protester admitted Wednesday he torched 11 parked NYPD vehicles last year as they sat unoccupied in a parking lot near a Brooklyn police stationhouse.
Jakhi Lodgson-McCray, 22, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to a federal arson charge Wednesday, admitting to an offense that carries a mandatory minimum of five years behind bars.
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“On June 12, 2025, I knowingly and intentionally set fire to NYPD vehicles in a parking lot in Brooklyn, New York, and I knew that the vehicles could be damaged,” he told Brooklyn Federal Court Magistrate Judge Seth Eichenholtz, as about 20 of his supporters sat in the courtroom, watching.
At least two of his supporters wore shirts with the messages, “Free Jakhi” and “Love Fights Back.”
“Jakhi is supported by a broad base of community organizations in New York City and across the United States, with more than 21 organizations already signed on to a statement of support for him following the plea deal today,” Lodgson-McCray’s “Support Committee” said in a statement released through his attorneys.
“Jakhi’s bravery and commitment to defending his community is an inspiration to us all, and we will keep fighting until he is free,” the statement said.
Lodgson-McCray set the police vehicles ablaze early on June 12, in a lot near the 83rd Precinct stationhouse in Bushwick, just hours after a “Speak Out” protest at the stationhouse calling out the NYPD out for its treatment of Puerto Rican Day Parade after-parade celebrants.
The FDNY managed to put out the fires within a few minutes. The vehicles suffered extensive damage, though no one was injured.
Lodgson-McCray was caught on video scaling a fence to get into the lot around 12:52 a.m., and had the run of the place for 32 minutes, according to filings by federal prosecutors. While inside the locked lot, he lit ablaze 10 NYPD vehicles and one trailer, the feds said.
A police officer came to inspect the lot at 1:24 a.m. and spotted the fires. Lodgson-McCray tried to climb the fence and escape, but the cop blocked his path. Instead, he found a hole in the fence to escape through.
Lodgson-McCray left behind a pair of sunglasses with his fingerprints on them and a cigar-lighter torch, the feds said. Investigators were able to track him through video surveillance to a bodega about a 14-minute walk away from the scene — where a surveillance camera caught an image of his photo ID when he opened his wallet.
Cops found 22 retail fire starters — including 12 Jealous Devil Boom starters and 10 BBQ Dragon Egg fire starters — on three unburnt vehicles, the feds allege.
He set the cars alight just two days before a planned No Kings protest, and the feds said the loss of the vehicles could have compromised the NYPD’s response to the mass demonstration.
“By deliberately setting fire to multiple police vehicles in the predawn hours, the defendant put at risk the lives of first responders and residents asleep in their beds nearby, and ultimately, strained resources meant to protect the community,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Wednesday.
The NYPD put the damages at more than $800,000, federal prosecutors said.
Lodgson-McCray has racked up several protest-related arrests for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault in both Manhattan and Queens, according to law enforcement officials.
His sentencing date has not yet been set.
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