A journalist from Arkansas with extreme far-left connections was among the four suspects charged for their alleged involvement with the fire bombings of police vehicles in Little Rock last summer.
According to the Post-Millennial, Renea Baek Goddard, 22, was associated with a Black Lives Matter protest on Aug. 25 where demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at Little Rock Police Department vehicles.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas announced that the suspects were arrested following an investigation led by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
New report: 4 far-left activists have been arrested following ATF investigation into firebombing attacks in Little Rock. Renea Goddard, one of the suspects, is a journalist. Other arrestees include Brittany Jeffrey, Aline Espinosa-Villegas & Emily Nowlin. https://t.co/rc5jTMUKmn
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) December 24, 2020
“Today’s arrests send a message that violence targeted toward law enforcement will not be tolerated,” stated US Attorney Cody Hiland in a release. “Breaking into a police compound and firebombing a police vehicle with a homemade explosive device is clearly not a peaceful protest. They will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Goddard was previously arrested and charged with obstructing governmental operations after violating curfew to attend a BLM protest on June 2. She is due in court on Jan. 22 for that case, the Post-Millennial reports.
She worked for KUAR Public Radio, contributed to the LGBTQ online magazine Autostraddle and interned for Arkansas Public Media after attending the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
“As more and more white supremacists try to rebrand themselves, journalists have a responsibility to be vigilant,” Goddard wrote in 2019 on the news site Truthout. “There needs to be an end to this farce that neutrality necessitates taking a centrist position.”
Other suspects facing charges include Brittany Dawn Jeffrey, 31; Emily Nowlin, 27; and Aline Espinosa-Villegas, 24; all of Little Rock.
Espinosa-Villegas is described as a “transsexual Chilean national” and reportedly uses “xe” pronouns.
Espinosa-Villegas has been held in the Pulaski County Detention Center without bail in regard to the federal charges.
Nowlin faces charges in connection with the firebombing of the police vehicle’s disorderly conduct during a June 2 protest, according to the Post-Millennial.
Additionally, Jeffrey was accused of allowing activists to use her home for the construction of incendiary devices. She has led a number of BLM-style demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in May.
All four suspects were charged with malicious destruction of property, conspiracy to commit those acts, and possession of a destructive device.
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