Alabama Activist Charged With Arson in Senatobia Police Department Fire

An Alabama activist faces federal arson charges after a fire at a Mississippi police station

Garrick Rawls, a civil rights activist from Huntsville, Alabama, has been charged with arson following a fire that damaged the Senatobia police headquarters in Mississippi, NY1 reported.

The charges stem from an incident occurring just after 4:30 a.m. on a Saturday, according to a federal law enforcement affidavit. Security footage captured a man wearing a mask and dark clothing smashing through a window of the police station. The affidavit, signed by Special Agent Joshua Garrett of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), details a violent sequence of events: the individual emptied a canister in the lobby and ignited it, triggering an explosion that threw him into the street with several parts of his body on fire. The man reportedly attempted to extinguish the flames on his body and backpack before fleeing on foot.

Investigators recovered several items from the scene, including a partially burned boot, latex gloves, a hammer, and a nozzle from a gas can. Community members assisted investigators in identifying Rawls, who was later located in Huntsville. When federal agents found him on Monday, he was wearing a large bandage and walking with a limp.

The unrest surrounding the death of Kohen Wiley

The fire comes months after the Senatobia community has been gripped by protests following the death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. In June, a Senatobia police officer fired a weapon into a moving vehicle while responding to a shoplifting call. The child was inside the vehicle with his mother, who was not injured, and a friend, who sustained serious injuries. While the women in the vehicle denied involvement in any theft, no charges were filed against them.

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A state investigation concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing by the officer involved. However, the Wiley family has maintained that the use of force was unjustified. The affidavit describes Rawls as an activist who has been “extremely active in the Senatobia community” in the wake of the child’s death. Notably, Rawls was seen attending a candlelit vigil for Wiley in Senatobia on the Friday night immediately preceding the fire.

While prosecutors have not yet outlined a specific motive for the arson, the timing of the attack on the police headquarters aligns with the ongoing local tension regarding law enforcement accountability and the circumstances of Wiley’s death.

The legal proceedings against Rawls are in the early stages. A federal public defender for Rawls did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the charges.