Originally Posted by Star Tribune

But defense attorneys argued, as they had in front of Noel just an hour before the hearing in Davis' courtroom, that much of the government's case relies on the word of confidential informants who had infiltrated the Austin Area Affinity Group. And, they said, prosecutors have no direct evidence that Crowder and McKay bought the materials used to make Molotov cocktails, and they have little more than informants' statements to go on.

...

After Noel's ruling, McKay's attorney was asked if he thought his decision to release the men indicated that a grand jury might not indict them. After all, if he didn't see them as dangerous, perhaps the U.S. attorney's office would rethink its case.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

Angry that a magistrate ordered the release of two men accused of possessing Molotov cocktails during last week's Republican National Convention, federal prosecutors Tuesday persuaded the top federal judge in Minnesota to stay the order and keep the men jailed.

...

At a hearing Tuesday, attorneys for the men argued that there wasn't enough probable cause to send the case to a grand jury and that they should be released because they weren't a danger to the community. [and it appears the magistrate agreed with this]

But Folk painted the two as dangerous men bent on mayhem even after the Republican National Convention had left St. Paul. He claimed the men and the devices they allegedly possessed "had no good purpose other

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

But at a probable cause and detention hearing before Noel on Tuesday in Minneapolis, attorneys for McKay and Crowder questioned an FBI agent about the evidence collected against the two. Much of that information came from two confidential sources and the seizure of homemade riot shields that even the agent admitted he wasn't sure St. Paul police had a warrant to seize.

"I don't know if they had a search warrant," FBI agent Christopher Langert testified. "I've not been presented with one."

...

But under questioning by Katherian D. Roe, the federal public defender representing Crowder, Langert seemed fuzzy on some details about the van. At first, he said he didn't know who rented it, then said he didn't want to mispronounce the person's name, then said it was someone named "Tovar."

In the affidavit he filed accompanying the criminal charge against the men, Langert wrote that one of his confidential informants told him McKay and Crowder had rented the trailer.

St. Paul police seized 34 shields, as well as helmets and riot batons, from the trailer Aug. 31. The informant had taken one shield to show it to the FBI.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

St. Paul police got a search warrant for the apartment on Dayton Avenue where the men and the others had been staying. In the basement, they seized eight Molotov cocktails filled with a mixture of gasoline and motor oil. McKay was arrested at the apartment.

Defense lawyer Jeff DeGree, who represents McKay, argued his client isn't a threat to public safety and should be released pending any action by the grand jury.

"They had every opportunity to use those, and they didn't," he said of the explosive devices. "He had no intention of using these things. They never got out of the basement."

Originally Posted by WCCO

Two Texas men charged with illegally possessing Molotov cocktails ahead of the Republican National Convention could remain in federal custody until their trials.

...

Attorneys for Crowder and McKay could later argue for the release of their clients ahead of trial, but Davis set no limit on how long the pair can remain in custody.

Originally Posted by Star Tribune

During a hearing Wednesday, Folk said that video and photographic evidence from the week of the convention shows the men are potentially dangerous.

Originally Posted by Star Tribune

[U.S. Chief Judge Michael]Davis said there are no conditions that he could impose that would ensure that McKay and Crowder would appear to face charges. So he ordered them held.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

At Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors entered six photographs into evidence, and FBI Special Agent Christopher Langert testified that McKay or Crowder appeared in each. Langert said the photos were taken Sept. 1, the first day of the RNC and the day the most damage downtown occurred.

The man whom Langert identified as Crowder was pictured wearing a helmet and a bandana over his face, while the man identified as McKay had a bandana over his face. Both were pictured with padding on their arms, which Langert described as "armor of some sort" to "defend themselves in violent confrontations" with law enforcement. [which as far as I know is NOT illegal!]

Langert described McKay and Crowder as part of a "much larger" group that descended on downtown in a "mob-like fashion" Sept. 1. He said the group smashed the window of a delegate bus and broke a squad-car window. [but as far I know they are not actually implicated in or charged with those crimes]

Two photos showed a group holding a large traffic sign, which Langert said was later thrown off an overpass near Kellogg and John Ireland boulevards onto Interstate 94. Langert testified Crowder was one of the people pictured. The sign didn't strike anyone or anything, Langert said. [but they didn't provided any evidence that Crowder was still holding the sign when it was thrown off the overpass, nor apparently is he otherwise implicated in or charged with that crime]

Originally Posted by WCCO

In an order dated Friday and made public Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan says 23-year-old Matthew Bradley DePalma of Flint, Michigan, will remain in custody.

Originally Posted by Minnesota Public Radio

Two Texas men accused of planning to disrupt the Republican National Convention have been indicted on weapons charges by a federal grand jury.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis says 22-year-old David Guy McKay and 23-year-old Bradley Neil Crowder, both of Austin, have been charged with possessing an unregistered firearm, possessing a firearm without a serial number and illegally manufacturing a firearm.

Originally Posted by Minnesota Public Radio

The U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis says 23-year-old Matthew Bradley DePalma of Flint, Mich., entered a guilty plea to possession of destructive devices on Tuesday.

DePalma had made at least five Molotov cocktails by the time he was arrested on Aug. 28 in a Minneapolis apartment.

He had allegedly told an FBI informant he planned to attack the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, where the convention was held, and had described a plan to use the fire bombs on police.

Originally Posted by WCCO

"Whatever was in the trailer I didn't want it in St. Paul," [St. Paul Police Commander Davis] Korus testified. He told officers who later found the trailer to "deal" with it, and an officer on the scene interpreted that to mean he should break into it.

In his report, Noel wrote that the search and seizure was illegal. McKay and Crowder had a "legitimate expectation of privacy" for the trailer and its contents.

"A container which can support a reasonable expectation of privacy may not be searched, even on probable cause, without a warrant," he wrote.

Originally Posted by Minnesota Public Radio

Federal Magistrate Franklin Noel said there was ample time for police to obtain a search warrant, because police knew the trailer and its contents existed for at least a day and half before they located it.