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Jan 8, 2009 1:32 pm US/Central
Texas Man Pleads Guilty In RNC Case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
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A cordon of police block off an area as they detain people along the riverfront outside the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Xcel Energy Center Sept. 1, 2008, in St. Paul, Minn.
Max Whittaker/Getty Images
One of two Texas men accused of possessing Molotov cocktails during the Republican National Convention has pleaded guilty to one charge.
Bradley Neal Crowder, 23, of Austin, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis to one count of aiding and abetting possession of an unregistered firearm. A sentencing date has not been set.
Prosecutors allege Crowder and his co-defendant, David Guy McKay, were part of an Austin-based protest group that planned to use incendiary devices to destroy property or injure police during the Republican National Convention, held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Sept. 1-4.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Crowder admitted Thursday in court that he helped build the firebombs, but he didn't say -- and prosecutors didn't ask -- how he intended to use them. He also said McKay was part of the scheme.
McKay is still scheduled to go on trial Jan. 26.
Jeff DeGree, McKay's attorney, said Crowder's plea likely wouldn't affect his client much, because the evidence against the two men is different.
"Just because they both got indicted under the same indictment doesn't mean that the evidence is the same," DeGree said.
McKay has maintained his innocence.
Meanwhile, Davis issued an order Wednesday that adopts some of a magistrate's recommendation about evidence in the case and declines other recommendations. Specifically, Davis disagreed with the magistrate and ruled that a statement McKay made to law enforcement at the time of his arrest could be used as evidence.
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The Republican National Convention was held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul from Sept. 1 through Sept. 4, 2008.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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