Ex-public radio reporter charged in connection torching police cars amid BLM protests in Arkansas

A former public radio reporter has been charged in connection with the firebombing of police vehicles this summer during Black Lives Matter protests in Arkansas, according to the Justice Department.

The former part-time reporter, Renea Goddard, is among four people charged in connection with the Aug. 25 and Aug. 28 incidents in which tires were slashed and vehicles were set afire with homemade incendiary devices in Little Rock and north Little Rock, the department said in a Dec. 17 release. 

Goddard, 22, was charged directly in connection with the Aug. 28 incident at the Arkansas State Police Headquarters, in Little Rock, based on surveillance video, witness information and cell phone data tracking.

"Violence targeted toward law enforcement will not be tolerated," U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland said. "Breaking into a police compound and fire bombing a police vehicle with a homemade explosive device is clearly not a peaceful protest."

The arrest was Goddard’s second related to Black Lives Matter protests, having been arrested in June for allegedly violating curfews, according to local TV station ABC7.

Goddard worked as a reporter and host for KUAR Public Radio, the New York Post reports. The radio station also confirmed that she was a part-time employee and said she had not worked there for over six months at the time of her arrest.