North Little Rock, Arkansas – A North Little Rock man who was convicted of firebombing police vehicles during the 2020 George Floyd protests has lost his latest attempt to overturn his federal prison sentence. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled against Mujera Benjamin Lung’aho’s appeal, leaving his conviction and prison term firmly in place.
The decision, announced Friday, upheld the ruling of the district court which found Lung’aho guilty of setting fire to three police cars in August 2020. The cars belonged to the North Little Rock Police Department, the Little Rock Police Department and the Arkansas State Police. Lung’aho had previously pleaded guilty to the crimes but argued during his appeal that the federal court had no authority to sentence him under the specific statute used in his case.
Lung’aho’s appeal centered on the claim that his sentence should not have been federal in nature because the damaged police cars were state or local property and not federally owned. However, the appeals court rejected this argument. Judges found that because those police agencies received federal funding, the federal statute applied even though the cars themselves were not purchased directly by the federal government.
Court documents revealed that the firebombings caused more than $86,000 in damages. Specifically, the total came to $86,099.37 after Molotov cocktails were thrown at the police vehicles over two nights during the protests on August 25 and 26, 2020. Lung’aho was described by officials as the leader of a small group responsible for the attacks. He was sentenced in December 2023 to serve 66 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay the full amount of restitution to cover the damage.
Four other people were sentenced alongside Lung’aho for their roles in the incidents, though the court’s latest decision specifically addressed only his appeal.
Lung’aho’s legal team argued that applying the federal law in his case stretched its intended purpose and that his actions did not warrant federal involvement. However, the appeals court disagreed and pointed out that the federal government’s financial connection to the affected agencies made the use of the law appropriate.
The Eighth Circuit’s decision closes the door on this particular legal challenge from Lung’aho. Unless further appeals are filed, he will serve the remainder of his prison term as originally ordered.
The 2020 protests, which erupted nationwide following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, led to several violent incidents in Arkansas and across the country. The firebombing of police vehicles in Little Rock and North Little Rock was among the most high-profile acts of property destruction in Arkansas during that period.
Officials have consistently said that while peaceful protest is a protected right, violence and destruction of public property cannot be tolerated. Lung’aho’s conviction and the upholding of his sentence serve as a reminder, they say, that there are serious legal consequences for actions that cross the line from protest into criminal behavior.
