Nashville man who broke civil rights movement plaque pleads guilty, faces sentencing
Rachel Wegner
- Tondrique Fitzgerald, 26, pleaded guilty to vandalism and rioting charges after violence broke out in Nashville in May 2020
- The riot happened after a peaceful rally against police brutality
- Rally organizers, activists and city leaders widely condemned the riot
- Fitzgerald faces sentencing on Dec. 13
Tondrique Fitzgerald is set to be sentenced on Dec. 13 for vandalism and rioting charges after shattering a plaque commemorating the 1960s lunch counter sit-in protests in Nashville, a pivotal chapter of the civil rights movement.
The plaque was broken on May 30, 2020, after a riot broke out following a peaceful protest against police brutality. Authorities said Fitzgerald, 26, used pieces of the plaque to break windows at Nashville's historic courthouse while encouraging others to participate in vandalism. Other rioters set fire to the courthouse and damaged several businesses along Lower Broadway, which is home to a popular strip of honky-tonks in downtown Nashville.
The riot cost the city of Nashville $1.2 million.
It also drew sharp criticism from rally organizers, city leaders and activists, some of which ago participated in protests i the 1960s that led Nashville to become the first Southern city to desegregate its lunch counters.
In 2020, Nashville hosted several peaceful protests and rallies following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of now-former Minneapolis Police Department Officer Derek Chauvin.
From May 2020:Rally organizers condemn Nashville riot after protests turn violent
'There is no change through violence':Nashville 1960s civil rights heroes praise current movement, denounce courthouse vandalism
The plaque immortalized Nashville's protests during the civil rights movement. The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis was part of those historical events, alongside Frankie Henry.
“Intelligent people were marching peacefully to enact change in the daytime, and a few criminals came out at night,” Henry, now a retired Nashville teacher, told The Tennessean a week after the 2020 riot. “Don’t get them mixed up.”
The plaque was replaced outside the historic courthouse in March 2021, while the broken one was archived at Tennessee State University.
Fitzgerald pleaded guilty in June to felony aggravated rioting and vandalism over $1,000. He also faces a charge of vandalism of $2,500 or more stemming from the riot. Court proceedings are still underway for that charge.