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The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office on Monday announced a 28-count indictment against 24-year-old Malik Muhammed of Indianapolis.
Prosecutors allege Muhammed traveled from Indiana to Portland in September 2020 "for the specific purpose of engaging in multiple criminal acts."
He faces more than two dozen charges, including two counts of attempted aggravated murder, six counts of attempted murder, two counts of attempted assault, two counts of unlawful manufacture of a destructive device, and six counts of criminal mischief.
According to a March 22 indictment, Muhammed attended Portland protests on four occasions last fall: Sept. 5, 21 and 23, and Oct. 11. During two of those incidents, prosecutors allege, he threw a "large burning object" that resembled a Molotov cocktail toward police—once at a vehicle occupied by a Portland Police Bureau sergeant and, two days later, at a group of officers outside the Multnomah County Justice Center.
The burning device did not explode during the first incident, prosecutors say, but it did during the second.
"On impact, the burning device exploded and a large fireball cascaded outward," the DA's office said Monday. "While most of the officers were able to move out of the way, one Portland police officer was sprayed with fire and his lower leg caught fire for a moment."
Four of the 28 counts accuse Muhammed of attempting to cause the death of a police officer.
Local law enforcement initially arrested Muhammed during a protest Oct. 11 when he allegedly smashed windows at the Oregon Historical Society, Portland State University and other businesses, including a Bank of America. Court documents show he was released from custody the next day after posting bail.
After Muhammed's alleged attendance of the protests, prosecutors say, he returned to Indiana. Law enforcement arrested him there April 2 on a warrant. Muhammed is currently in jail in Indiana as he awaits extradition to Oregon.