A young man accused of inciting a riot in Pittsburgh on Saturday has been handed over to the police by his parents.
According to Fox News, Brian Jordan Bartels, 20, of Shaler, Pennsylvania, remained at large on Monday after a search warrant held in conjunction with the FBI was served at his home the day before.
Bartels, reportedly a suspected member of the far-left agitation group Antifa, faces charges of institutional vandalism, rioting, and reckless endangerment of another person, according to police spokesman Chris Togneri.
Togneri said: “Police secured the warrant as part of an investigation into a male suspect who incited Saturday’s violence by breaking the windows out of a marked Pittsburgh Police vehicle Uptown, against the wishes of peaceful protesters who tried to stop him.”
#BREAKING 20 year Brian Bartels just turned himself in at police headquarters. He is facing numerous charges in relation to Saturday’s protests. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/zCBiaZwCtd
— Nicole Ford (@NicoleFordTV) June 1, 2020
President Donald Trump has signaled an intention to designate the radical left-wing anarchist group Antifa as a terrorist organization.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert suggested the George Floyd protests took a turn for the worst after provocation from the anarchist group, reported KDKA2.
He said: “I’m willing to bet my check that there’s a lot of people who are anarchists, who, they’re not here to protest what happened, they’re not here to protest what happened, they’re here to take advantage of situations and throw it their way and bring other people into the mix and cause damage and cause injury.
“There’s no doubt that that’s who’s doing it and a lot of things we’re seeing are white males, dressed in the anarchist, Antifa, they’re ones who are fueling a lot of this,” he continued.
Schubert, referring to the violence experienced elsewhere, added: “It’s just a damn shame that they took advantage of the situation, for something, something happened in another state where somebody died who shouldn’t have died, and they hijacked that message for their own.”
Since a photo of the black-clad Bartels was uploaded, an anonymous Amazon co-worker called the police tip line to give up the identity of the riot-starter.
Sara A Carter reports that the young man was turned over to the police by his parents.
The riots appear to have fizzled out as the new week draws in following a weekend of carnage.
