Two of the three people charged with burning a Wendy’s in Atlanta, Georgia during a chaotic Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot in 2020 have agreed to a plea deal. Chisom Kingston along with Natalie White were charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit arson and two first-degree counts of arson, and according to court records, they have both pleaded guilty.
Two BLM rioters were convicted for setting an Atlanta Wendy's on fire at a BLM riot in 2020. As I wrote in my book, the Wendy's area was transformed into an autonomous zone & a child was shot dead. The two were sentenced to a $500 fine & community service.https://t.co/5Sqpjnv5X0
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) December 4, 2023
As a result, Kingston and White received a $500 fine and were sentenced to five years of probation, and 150 hours of community service. John Wesley Wade, 35, was also indicted together with Kingston and White in January. Wade’s trial is scheduled for the coming week, and the implications of the plea deals on the overall outcome remain uncertain.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the three suspects initially pleaded not guilty, but then waived their arraignments in March 2022. It is connected with a violent BLM riot after the death of Rayshard Brooks, 27, who was shot to death in a police-involved incident in June 2020.
This happened after Brooks had beaten Officer David Brosnan, who was investigating him for driving under the influence in a Wendy’s parking lot before Brooks stole the policeman’s taser. Brooks aimed the taser at Brosnan, which prompted Officer Garrett Rolfe to make the fatal shot that killed Brooks.
As a response to Brooks’ death, rioters set fire to a Wendy’s and established an uncontrolled rioting area where an 8-year-old girl would unfortunately be killed on July 4, 2020. The perpetrators took several shots at a vehicle where the child was seated with her mother and another adult — leading to the young girl’s death.
Only five days after the incident, the previous Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard filed criminal charges against Officers Rolfe and Brosnan. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault while Rolfe was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. In the spring, however, Rolfe, who had been previously placed on leave, was reinstated.
Finally, John Wesley Wade, the third suspect who refused to be part of the deal, is a very prominent BLM activist in Atlanta. In the summer of 2020, he led many demonstrations, and in October 2020, he was arrested with federal charges due to a series of violent demonstrations. Wade was sentenced to five years in federal prison in March 2022.
He was part of the group of rioters who torched police vehicles in Atlanta and U.S Postal Service property before the 2020 election. Notably, the group left notes reading “Stand By” in an attempt to falsely implicate the Proud Boys for these crimes, referencing a phrase used by former President Donald Trump during the first 2020 presidential debate.
Wade was apprehended by the police while wearing a GPS ankle-monitoring device, a condition imposed when he was released on bond for his involvement in burning down the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot by the Atlanta Police Department.
