Attorney Accused of Firebombing NYPD Vehicle Responds to Supporters During Arraignment
Urooj Rahman, who worked as a tenants' attorney in Bronx Housing Court before her arrest, pleaded not guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak of the Eastern District of New York during a brief hearing plagued by background noise, as has become commonplace in virtual court appearances.
June 29, 2020 at 12:23 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
May 30, 2020, Registered attorney Urooj Rahman holding a molotov cocktail.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of friends and family members dialed into the conference-call arraignment Monday of attorney Urooj Rahman, who has been indicted on charges of arson and use of explosives, among other offenses, in connection with the May 30 Molotov cocktail attack on an unoccupied New York City Police Department vehicle in Brooklyn.
Rahman, who worked as a tenants' attorney in Bronx Housing Court before her arrest, pleaded not guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak of the Eastern District of New York during a brief hearing plagued by background noise, as has become commonplace in virtual court appearances.
While the conference call line was active before and after the arraignment, Rahman's supporters spoke out, just as her co-defendant Colinford Mattis' supporters did during his arraignment Wednesday.
"Love you Urooj, we're all here," one voice said before Pollak's clerk reminded everyone to mute their phones ahead of the arraignment.
"Love you Urooj, stay strong," another voice said.
Rahman, who has been in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since a panel of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted prosecutors' request for an emergency stay of the district court's decision to release Rahman and Mattis to home confinement on $250,000 bond, responded in a calm voice.
"I love you guys," she said.
When the arraignment was adjourned, a fresh wave of voices expressed love and support for Rahman.
"Praying for you every day," one said.
Rahman's attorneys, including Paul Shechtman of Bracewell, have informed the court that Rahman lived with and cared for her mother prior to her arrest. Her mother appeared to be one of the participants in the call, saying "Love you" over and over.
"Love you, Mom," Rahman responded at least twice.
The Second Circuit is still weighing whether to uphold the ruling from U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie of the Eastern District of New York that Mattis and Rahman can be released from the MDC. A group of former federal prosecutors and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have each joined the case as amicus curiae to argue for Mattis and Rahman's release on the basis that the government's argument would upend existing bail practice.
The pair is also the subject of an open letter from more than 850 current and former students, faculty, staff and student organizations at New York University School of Law, from which Mattis graduated in 2016.
"We the undersigned stand with Colin and Urooj and call on the federal government to drop these politically motivated charges and their aggressive pursuit of detention without bail," the group wrote in their letter.
Read more:
2nd Circuit Weighs Whether 2 Lawyers Charged in Molotov Cocktail Attack Can Remain at Home
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