Two Pittsburgh residents face federal criminal charges after allegedly igniting and then dropping two homemade smoke bombs.
U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in an indictment released Friday that Brian and Krystal DiPippa, of Regent Square, stand accused of conspiracy and obstruction of law enforcement.
According to the document, the couple participated in an April protest at the University of Pittsburgh. The protest was sparked by two conservative speakers who came to debate government restrictions on transgender people.
In addition to the smoke bombs, the couple allegedly threw a large firework into a group of Pitt officers, injuring several of them. Brian DiPippa was also charged with using an explosive to commit a federal felony.
For more than four hours during the April 18 demonstration, hundreds of students and community members shut down streets around the student center as they protested the controversial event hosted by the Pitt chapter of College Republicans. The group had invited conservative podcast host and commentator Michael Knowles, who is known for expressing anti-transgender ideas, to campus.
While more than 11,000 people signed a petition calling for the university to cancel the event, the university permitted it to continue because a student group hosted it.
“The university appreciates the diligence of law enforcement agencies that partnered on the investigation into the devices used during demonstrations on campus on April 18,” said Pitt spokesperson Jared Stonesifer in a Friday-afternoon statement. “The arrest of the suspects today marks the next step in the process, and we will continue to fully collaborate with federal agencies.”
