Malik F. Muhammad, an Indiana man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at police last year and breaking windows downtown, convinced a federal magistrate judge late last month to release him to inpatient mental health treatment pending trial.
But Monday, another federal judge overturned his release and ordered Muhammad to remain locked up.
U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez cited the “extraordinarily dangerous” nature of the allegations against Muhammad in denying his release.
Muhammad’s status before trial has been a matter of frequent maneuvering in state and federal courts.
Federal prosecutors filed charges against Muhammad and he was returned to custody in late May, two days after he got out of jail on state charges when the Portland Freedom Fund put up 10%, or $212,500, of his $2.1 million bail.
Muhammad faces both federal charges of civil disorder through obstruction of law enforcement, unlawful use of explosives and possessing a firearm that wasn’t registered to him, as well as a 28-count indictment in state court accusing him of attempted aggravated murder, riot and other charges stemming from the same alleged offenses.
He’s accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail that landed 15 feet from a police vehicle on Sept. 5, 2020, outside the Penumbra Kelly Building in Southeast Portland and throwing a similar device at a line of officers downtown on Sept. 23 last year that caught one officer’s pants leg on fire.
The next month, Muhammad is accused of smashing out windows of the Oregon Historical Society and a Portland State University building with a metal baton, supplying other people with baseball bats to break out downtown windows and then running from police with a gun, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Delph told Hernandez.
Delph argued that Muhammad, 24, repeatedly endangered the lives of law enforcement officers, caused thousands of dollars in property damage and encouraged others to commit violence after traveling to Portland from his home in Indianapolis in late August 2020.
“He trained and was prepared for these violent riots,” Delph said in court. “He was a violent instigator from outside the district. Mr. Mohammad frankly puts the community, not his own, in serious danger.”
The prosecutor also cited Muhammad’s social media posts that promoted violence toward police in other cities, including Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Chicago. Delph said they revealed Muhammad’s “anti-government/anti-authority violent extremist” ideology.
In one photo depicting events in Kenosha, Muhammad added a caption that read, “Kill cops. Shoot back. We say no justice no peace we mean NO PEACE,” according to Delph. On another, Muhammad referenced a news story about Chicago gangs forming a pact to execute cops who draw weapons and wrote, “shoot, every opportunity you have,” Delph wrote in a federal motion seeking the Muhammad’s detention.
Muhammad’s lawyer Gerald Needham argued that the strict parameters for release set by the magistrate judge 10 days ago sufficiently address any concerns about Muhammad’s potential risk of fleeing or danger to the community.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman ruled Oct. 28 that Muhammad could be released to inpatient treatment when a bed became available and only if he was deemed to be mentally stable by officials at the federal prison in Sheridan, where he has been held.
Needham, an assistant federal public defender, said Muhammad suffers from bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s now medicated and stable, Needham said.
Needham suggested the court could require Muhammad be placed on GPS ankle monitoring.
Hernandez said he agreed with Beckerman that Muhammad doesn’t present a risk of not returning to court, but Hernandez found Muhammad poses a danger.
Hernandez also noted that Muhammad has drug, alcohol and mental health issues that remain unresolved and said he isn’t comfortable placing him in a treatment center that’s not locked down.
“Weapons were involved,” Hernandez said. “Threats to person and property here in Portland. Very, very serious behavior.”
