No. 24-1228 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Leroy Lemonte Perry Williams, Jr., also known as Le-Roy Lamonte’-Perry Williams, Jr.

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________

Submitted: December 18, 2024 Filed: May 1, 2025 ____________ Before SMITH, GRUENDER, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________ SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Leroy Williams Jr. appeals a jury verdict against him for attempted arson under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). He also appeals his sentence, arguing that the district court1

1 The Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. committed procedural error and imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence. We affirm.

I. Background On August 26, 2020, around 6:00 p.m., a homicide occurred in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Not long after the murder, the suspected killer committed suicide near Nicollet Mall. Rumors spread that police had killed the suspect. Police released their video showing the suspect’s suicide. Nonetheless, crowds began protesting in downtown Minneapolis. Tensions escalated, prompting city and state officials to declare a state of emergency, impose a curfew, and deploy the National Guard. Ultimately, after substantial unrest, approximately 72 businesses suffered damage.

Williams apparently knew the murder victim well. Around 8:00 p.m. that night, a Facebook Live video recorded and posted Williams saying, “George Floyd, [r]ound two . . . . We’re fittin’ [sic] tear this city back up.” R. Doc. 383, at 3. Later, around 9:00 p.m., a Speedway Gas Station security camera recorded Williams stealing an automatic change dispenser containing $279 after someone else broke into the gas station with a baseball bat.

Around 11:00 p.m., Williams was seen on camera outside and within the Target Headquarters. Williams can be seen entering the building briefly with the crowd. A participant in the unrest, Shador Jackson, used a construction sign to break into the Headquarters’ mailroom entrance. Williams was present with Jackson. When security personnel approached, Williams then fled.

Williams returned to the Target Headquarters minutes later carrying a cardboard box. Outside the mailroom entrance, he attempted to ignite the corner of the box with a cigarette lighter. He then walked toward the mailroom entrance and leaned inside. Multiple flashes of light can be seen around his hand on the grainy surveillance camera footage on the inside of the Target Headquarters.

-2- Williams then collected more cardboard from outside the building and returned to the mailroom entrance, placing the cardboard inside the entrance. A man outside the building confronted Williams, and Williams shoved him away. Williams stood near the entrance to the mailroom for several more minutes, but did not lean in and there were no more flashes of light. Finally, Williams left the area with the person who broke into the Speedway Gas Station with a baseball bat.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated the scene the next day. It found no physical evidence of an attempted arson inside the mailroom entrance at the Target Headquarters. Several weeks later, authorities arrested Williams, and a grand jury initially indicted him, Shador Jackson, and Victor Edwa