PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The woman who set fire to two Philadelphia police cars during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests received a much lighter sentence on Thursday than prosecutors were seeking.
Lore Blumenthal has already been in jail for 25 months for destroying the two police cars. Prosecutor Amanda Reinitz asked that she serve the maximum 46 months for the May 30, 2020 incident that took place near City Hall.
“She went to a peaceful protest to cause chaos and put hundreds of innocent people in danger,” Reinitz argued.
Defense attorney Paul Hetznecker called the action anomalous — a brief moment in the life of a woman who has helped the homeless, built community and volunteered with veterans and people with disabilities.
Blumenthal herself said she regretted those moments and admitted she was intoxicated and not in control.
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Judge Barclay Surrick said he was persuaded that she had learned her lesson and sentenced her to 30 months — meaning she has just five months left to serve.
Blumenthal originally faced seven years in prison for arson but was allowed to plead guilty to civil unrest. Hetznecker said the Biden administration’s Justice Department has seen the 2020 civil unrest in a new light.
“[It] contextualizes this particular incident as a snapshot, not just in her life but in history, the most profound expression of civil rights protest in our lifetime,” said Hetznecker. “We have to put that in a historic context. Whether or not the judge was influenced by that, I can’t say. I think he was more influenced by her individual efforts at self-initiated rehabilitation, but I think we as a society need to reflect on the message that was sent that day and not that one destructive act by my client.”
Blumenthal will also have to pay the $95,000 it costs the police department to replace the two cars.
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