A Columbia man was sentenced to prison Thursday after admitting he threw a barricade at a police officer during a protest in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Luis Rosario, 30, was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lewis for his involvement in a Columbia protest over Floyd’s death on May 30, 2020. During the protest, Rosario admitted to throwing bottles at police followed by a barricade, which struck a Columbia police officer in the head, requiring seven stitches.
Rosario’s attorney, Jenny Smith, a federal public defender, argued her client should receive probation in lieu of prison time. But Lewis maintained she needed to send a message that violence during a protest is inexcusable…