Minneapolis man convicted for 2020 arson at Target HQ

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A federal grand jury found a 36-year-old man guilty of arson on Thursday for attempting to start a fire at Target’s corporate headquarters in Minneapolis. 

On Aug. 26, 2020, rioting erupted in downtown Minneapolis following rumors that a man who had committed suicide downtown had been killed by Minneapolis police. 

During the incident, court records indicate Leroy Lemonte Perry Williams broke into Target’s headquarters and repeatedly tried to light cardboard on fire. After a three-day trial, a federal jury found him guilty on one count of arson.

Another man, Victor Edwards, 30, of St. Paul, was sentenced in August 2021 to eight years in prison for also attempting to start a fire in Target’s headquarters during the same riot. 

A sentencing date has not yet been set for Williams.