RALEIGH, N.C. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - North Carolina, Eastern), published as received.
RALEIGH, N.C. – Alexander Pridgen, a Greenville man, was charged by Indictment for willfully damaging government property in Greenville during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced.
According to the Indictment, on May 31, 2020, Alexander Pridgen joined a group of people who were peacefully protesting in Greenville, North Carolina. The group of peaceful protesters walked past the federal bankruptcy court, located at 150 Reade Circle, in Greenville, North Carolina. Without provocation, Pridgen picked up a brick or brick-like object and hurled it through a ground floor window of the bankruptcy court. Pridgen’s act of vandalism was captured on video by a peaceful protester, who was live streaming the event on Facebook.
Law enforcement officers were able to identify Pridgen because of his involvement in another act of vandalism committed at the Greenville Police Station later in the evening of May 31, 2020, which was captured on video surveillance.
The damage to the ground floor window at the Greenville bankruptcy court cost in excess of $1,000.
The single count charged in the indictment carries a statutory maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina credited the United States Marshals Service and the Greenville Police Department with the investigation leading to Pridgen’s indictment. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Rikhye of the of the U.S. Attorney's Office’s Criminal Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A copy of this press release is located on our website.
