Police Arrest Man Accused of Starting Fire at Metro Courthouse

One of the many memorable images that emerged from this weekend's events downtown — starting with a peaceful rally and ending with a small riot — was that of a white man setting a fire inside the Metro Courthouse as a small crowd looked on. Now police say they've arrested that man. 

The Metro Nashville Police Department announced the arrest of 25-year-old Wesley Somers at a home in Madison and charged him with felony arson, vandalism and disorderly conduct. They said "assistance from the community helped lead to his identification." 

Somers is being held on $500,000 bond $755,000 bond according to Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson, who appeared at a Monday morning press briefing with Mayor John Cooper. (As Jason Steen notes on Twitter, Officer Andrew Delke was held on a $25,000 bond after he was charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting Daniel Hambrick.)

Somers is one of 29 people who were arrested over the weekend after a small riot followed a peaceful rally against police brutality, which drew thousands of people to the Legislative Plaza. Protesters confronted police at MNPD's Central Precinct, and as night fell, a smaller group of people spray-painted the front of the courthouse, shattered windows and started small fires inside. Police in riot gear fired tear gas at the crowd, filling Public Square Park with smoke and noxious fumes. 

Of the people arrested Saturday night, 16 were black, 11 were white and one was Hispanic. All but a few were from Middle Tennessee, and the majority were from Davidson County, according to police. 

Leaders of The Equity Alliance, one of Nashville's most prominent black advocacy organizations which helped organize Saturday's rally, condemned the rioting in a statement on Saturday night. 

“It is our firm belief that those individuals defacing and destroying public property after the rally were not a part of the original event," Charlane Oliver and Tequila Johnson said in the joint statement. "The actions by this small group reflect neither the beliefs of the groups that led today’s peaceful assembly nor those of the majority of the attendees. This behavior dishonors the memory of George Floyd and other black Americans that have died unjustly at the hands of police."