Downtown Tucson vandalism spree politically motivated, police say

Three people were arrested in connection with a vandalism spree Sunday night downtown that Tucson police says involved as many as 100 people here for a “summit” organized by a group that says it is anti-police as well as against “Israeli Occupying Forces.”

Three people broke off from the larger group were arrested on suspicion of arson, criminal damage and rioting. They were identified as Arlene Villalobos, 33; Hassan Hassan, 31; and Gabriel Parks, 18, Tucson police said Monday in a news release.

The trio’s “actions resulted in significant damage and endangered both property and lives, including throwing incendiary devices into an occupied building,” police said Monday in the release.

Tucson police were surveilling the group known as the Stop Cop City near Presidio Park downtown. The group was in Tucson this weekend for a “national summit,” according to court records filed in Pima County Justice Court.

As many as 100 people who were dressed in black and wore face coverings participated in the vandalism, court records say.

Stop Cop City began in 2020 with the purpose of opposing construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. And in September 2023, Fulton County prosecutors indicted 61 individuals on racketeering charges in connection to the movement.

The group says online that Tucson was chosen for its summit because “The Southwest is home to many corporations supplying arms to the Israeli military.”

It contemplated arrests in Tucson.

“We cannot make guarantees regarding the safety of participation in any protest movement, including support roles and infrastructure,” the group says on its website as part of information provided to potential attendees. “We simply know that–amidst the rise of far-right governments across the world, rampant environmental degradation, and the increasing militarization of police forces–the risk of inaction is too great.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Police say they watched several people throw rocks through the front windows of the PNC and the now-closed Wells Fargo bank branches downtown, as well as a vacant building along North Stone Avenue that once housed a museum, court records say.

“The subjects lit road flares and consumer grade mortars, and threw them into the PNC Bank,” court filings say. Two people cleaning the PNC branch at the time of the attack locked themselves inside one of the office rooms, the court document says.

Officers noted graffiti on the walls that included “Stop Cop City,” and “Tortuguita,” court records say. Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as “Tortugita,” was an environmental activist who was shot and killed by Georgia state troopers during a January 2023 raid of the Stop Cop City encampment in Atlanta, the Associated Press reported in October.

Two burning road flares and a mortar were found inside the PNC Bank branch, 120 N. Stone Ave. One flare left burn marks on the floor near a teller window, police said.

The glass windows and doors at PNC and Wells Fargo were shattered, and the ATM machines were damaged.

Total damage is anticipated to top $100,000, court records say.

Items believed to belong to other members of the rioters were later found near West Washington Street and North Court Avenue, including backpacks filled with “road flares, mortars and bottles of accelerants,” court documents say.

“These actions do not reflect the values of our Tucson community,” Tucson police said Monday in its release. “We stand united to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone in our community.”

Police ask that anyone with information call 911 or 88-CRIME, the anonymous tip line.