Federal Jury Finds Cedar Park Man Guilty After Attempting to Make a Molotov Cocktail

AUSTIN - Today a federal jury convicted a Cedar Park man after he tried to make a Molotov cocktail during an evening protest in Austin on May 30, 2020.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Cyril Lartigue, 27, was caught on videotape manufacturing a destructive device while in a parking lot directly adjacent to the Austin Municipal Court entrance. While making the device, Lartigue was interrupted by the oncoming presence of Austin Police Department (APD) officers heading in his direction. Lartigue fled the area, leaving the device behind, but returned within minutes to retrieve it. APD officers then arrested him inside a nearby portable toilet where he had changed clothes. Inside his backpack, officers recovered materials used to manufacture an explosive device including beer bottles, a bottle containing lighter fluid, cloth rags, a butane lighter and the clothes he was previously wearing.

Lartigue is scheduled to be sentenced on February 4, 2022. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Fred J. Milanowski, Houston Division, made the announcement.

The ATF, Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Keith Henneke and Gabe Cohen are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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