Charges reduced for Seattle man who shot protester in ’20

A man who drove into a crowd in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and shot a person during protests in 2020 pleaded guilty to a reduced charge last week because King County prosecutors say they did not believe they could disprove his self-defense claim.

Nikolas Fernandez, 31, of Seattle, drove a car toward a large crowd on a closed street during the June 2020 protests spurred by the police killing of George Floyd. One protester reached into the car and punched Fernandez in the face. Fernandez then shot the 27-year-old protester in the arm before turning himself over to police.

Fernandez has told authorities he is the brother of a Seattle police officer, according to prosecutors. He was initially charged with first-degree assault but pleaded guilty Monday to reckless driving, a gross misdemeanor. Prosecutors dropped the first-degree assault charge the same day as part of a plea deal.

According to court records, a sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 3. Prosecutors plan to recommend to the judge giving Fernandez 24 months of probation and suspending his license for 30 days.

In a Friday email to staff that also was released to the media, King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said the charge was reduced because her office did not believe it could get a conviction on the felony charge.

“Over the course of the follow-up investigation, it has become clear that we cannot meet the high burden of disproving self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt,” Manion wrote.

In 2020, Fernandez told police he feared for his life when he shot the man, fracturing a bone in the protester’s arm, with a 9-mm Glock handgun loaded with an extended magazine and with a second magazine taped to it.

Prosecutors said at the time they believed Fernandez had provoked the incident.