A St. Paul, Minnesota, A man who drove his car into a group of protesters in Minneapolis in June 2021, killing one person, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
In October, Nikolas Kraus pleaded guilty to second-degree assault second degree murder for killing Deona Marie Kneidek during the incident.
Nikolas Krauss was sentenced to 20 years for driving into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2021, killing one person and injuring three others.
(Hennepin County Jail)
Krauss faced a third charge of second-degree assault, which prosecutors dropped as part of a plea deal.
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Krauss was charged in the incident when he sped toward a parked car being used as a barricade on a street where demonstrators were protesting the law enforcement killing of Winston Boogie Smith Jr.
He then rammed a parked car, pushing it into the protesters, killing Kneidek and injuring three others.
Minneapolis police descend on the Long Lake St block in Uptown before sunset to dismantle barricades erected by protesters Tuesday evening, June 15, 2021, in Minneapolis
(Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Fox station KMSP in Minneapolis reported that Kraus admitted in court in October that he intentionally drove into the barricades and the crowd.
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During the interrogation, he also admitted that he was suffering from health problems and was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the accident. However, he could not say what prompted him to do this and why.
Before sentencing Wednesday, Krauss told the court that “I should have died” that day, while expressing his support Black Lives Matter movement.
Police remove items used to barricade Lake Street in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. A St. Paul man is accused of speeding and driving into a group of protesters in Minneapolis, killing him One man was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder.
(Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)
Kraus told the court that he made a bad choice that day and that he deserves the maximum sentence of 21 years in prison.
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Although he said he didn’t expect the family to forgive him, Krauss apologized to the family.
The victim of the incident told the court that he did not agree with the plea agreement and wanted Kraus to serve the maximum sentence.
The court ultimately sentenced Krauss to 45 months, or 3.75 years, in prison for second-degree assault and 240 months, or 20 years, for second-degree murder. Both sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve a maximum of 20 years.
