Pittsburgh man gets a year of house arrest for actions during Downtown George Floyd protests

A Pittsburgh man who used his skateboard to break the window of a city police vehicle during the 2020 George Floyd protests Downtown will serve one day in custody and one year on house arrest.

Joseph Craft, 29, of Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, must report to U.S. marshals on Friday morning. He pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder on Aug. 19.

At his sentencing Thursday before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab, Craft said it was not his intention to commit any crime, but he set out to provide support to other protesters.

Craft said he packed bags the morning of May 30, 2020, with granola and fruit to distribute among those protesting the death of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.

“I was terrified, but that did not deter me from showing support to my neighbors, friends and city,” Craft said.

The protest was peaceful for much of the day, he told the court, but when the group leaders left, the crowd did not disperse and things quickly turned violent and destructive.

Two police vehicles were burned, police officers were injured and property Downtown was destroyed.

Craft admitted to attempting to block a police car that had been trying to leave and then striking that vehicle twice with his skateboard. He then ran to another unoccupied police vehicle, and broke the driver’s side window with his skateboard.

That vehicle was set on fire after Craft left.

Defense attorney Ryan James said his client had good intentions that day, but got swept up in the rioting.

“His acts were never the spark to further destruction or escalation,” James wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “He was a follower, not an instigator.”

During his statement to the court, Craft, who has a history of working for nonprofits, said that he always puts others before himself despite the potential consequences.

“It didn’t feel like I helped anyone, and I regretted many of the decisions I made,” Craft said.

Advisory sentencing guidelines called for four to 10 months incarceration.

But Schwab, in handing down his sentence, said he believed that incarceration was unnecessary. Giving him house arrest would allow Craft to continue his full-time employment as an assistant manager at a Downtown restaurant.

Schwab also said that the sentence is similar to one he gave to Brian Bartels, whose actions that day led to one police vehicle being set on fire. Bartels was ordered to serve one day in the custody of U.S. marshals and six months at a halfway house.

Despite granting the defense request for leniency, Schwab was skeptical of Craft’s explanation of his actions that day.

“This was not a mistake. This was a criminal act. The defendant shows little repentance,” Schwab said. “It is incorrect to state he was there acting in a peaceful way. His behavior was criminal.”

The judge noted that, after the protest got out of control, Craft worked with others to move a large sidewalk lantern into the middle of Fifth Avenue to block police officers from being able to get through. Schwab said he also refused to disperse and picked up at least two pepper spray canisters officers had thrown into the crowd and threw them back at police.

“It was a continued series of acts attempting to cause harm to police officers who were there trying to promote public safety,” Schwab said.