August 3, 2020 3:20 a.m.

A Portland man has been charged with arson following an incident at the Mark Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in downtown Portland on July 28th.

U.S. Attorney Billy Williams announced that Gabriel Agard-Berryhill is accused of using fire to maliciously damage the courthouse. Williams said “No legitimate protest message is advanced by throwing a large explosive device against a government building”. Williams said the man’s alleged actions could have gravely injured law enforcement officers positioned near the courthouse, other protestors standing nearby or himself. Williams applauded ATF agents and U.S. Marshals Service deputies who “…worked quickly to identify Agard-Berryhill before he had an opportunity to hurt others”.

A release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon said court documents show that at approximately 11:50 p.m. on July 28th, 2020, security cameras at the Hatfield Federal Courthouse captured footage of a large incendiary object enteringthe building’s portico area and land near plywood sheeting affixed to the building’s façade. The release said that a few seconds later, the object exploded, igniting a fire near the building’s main entrance.

ATF investigators reviewed social media posts from the night of the explosion and located videos of the incendiary object being thrown. The individual depicted throwing the object, was later identified to be Agard-Berryhill.

The suspect made his first appearance in federal court on Friday and was ordered released pending further court proceedings. Arson is punishable by up to 20 years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.