A 22-year-old Richfield man has been charged with assaulting a police officer during the rioting in Dinkytown Saturday night that occurred after the University of Minnesota hockey team lost the NCAA National Championship game.
Michael Juberian was arrested Saturday night and formally charged Monday with rioting while armed with a dangerous weapon, a felony, and assaulting a peace officer, a gross misdemeanor, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
According to the charges, Juberian allegedly threw several bottles, a rock and a baseball-sized chunk of concrete at police officers on the scene of Saturday night’s melee, and hit one officer in the foot with the piece of concrete, the Star Tribune reports.
He was released from jail Monday evening, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department, and will have his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.
Minneapolis police arrested 19 people Saturday night. Most of them were ticketed and released on the scene, but four were booked on suspicion of unlawful assembly, underage consumption and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.
In addition to the criminal penalties, students who were arrested could face discipline from the University of Minnesota as well. U of M officials said in a statement they will review each student’s case individually and determine what, if any sanctions might be taken against them. They range from a warning to suspension or expulsion.
“Any student who was arrested is in violation of the Student Conduct Code,” said university spokesman Steve Henneberry. “They will be held accountable.”
University administrators and campus police will meet later this week to review preparations for the games and the response to the disturbances, Henneberry said, according to the Pioneer Press.
Big hockey games have led to riots on campus in previous years as well. In 2002 and again in 2003, when the Gophers won the national title, students went on rampages that caused more than $200,000 in damages, the Pioneer Press reports. After those two incidents, the U adopted an anti-rioting policy, which gives the school the authority to expel students who incite or participate in a riot as a result of a university-sponsored event.
Police are still investigating the disturbances, reviewing social media sites as well as photos and video of the activities, to try to track down those responsible for property damage.
