Javon Hardy, Rioting, New York 2021

A Rochester man has pleaded guilty to rioting in connection with violence associated with civil unrest in the city.

Javon Hardy, 24, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to rioting, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The incident occurred on May 30, 2020, in the City of Rochester, where Hardy, along with numerous other individuals, participated in a public protest near the Public Safety Building located at 185 Exchange Street.

During the course of the riot, Hardy approached a mobile office trailer located at the corner of Court Street and Exchange Boulevard and threw a flammable liquid inside the trailer, starting a fire. He exclaimed, “Let that (expletive) burn,” and “If it’s not on fire, I didn’t do my job.”

The burning of the trailer and Hardy’s statements were captured on Facebook Live, which streamed the burning of the trailer on the internet. Hardy also posted his own statement on Facebook Live, admitting to being at the protests in downtown Rochester, wearing the same clothing as he wore when he started the fire at the mobile office trailer.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Rochester Police Department, the Gates Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, and the Rochester Fire Department.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 15, 2021, at 9:15 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.

Javon Hardy is the first of 16 defendants charged in connection with violence associated with civil unrest in the city to be convicted. By his plea, Hardy has admitted that his behavior was not constitutionally protected expression but criminal conduct.

U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. stated, “Lawlessness, violence, and property damage are inherently unjust and antithetical to the objectives of those well-intentioned individuals who come together seeking positive change in our community. The defendant, and those like him, who engage in these sorts of criminal acts contribute only to our crime rate and add nothing in terms of meaningful growth or progress in our community.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas E. Gregory stated that Hardy’s actions contributed to significant property damage and looting in the city.

Contact: Barbara Burns, (716) 843-5817.

Related Federal Cases