Biography
Ivan James Ferguson, 23, is a classical clarinetist from Henderson, Nevada who graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2021 and had performed as a soloist with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra and Berkeley Symphony. On January 21, 2023, he was arrested during a protest march through downtown Atlanta called in response to the police killing of Manuel "Tortuguita" Paez Terán three days earlier. Demonstrators vandalized the Atlanta Police Foundation building, smashed windows at a Wells Fargo branch, and set an APD patrol car on fire. Ferguson was charged with domestic terrorism, first-degree arson, second-degree criminal damage to property, interference with government property, rioting, unlawful assembly, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and pedestrian in a roadway. He was held in Fulton County Jail; though bond of over $355,000 was set on January 23, he could not immediately post the amount and was not released until February 15, 2023 — 25 days after his arrest. He was released on ankle monitor with a 24-hour curfew, with exceptions for school, work, legal meetings, and religious services, and ordered to have no contact with co-defendants. In September 2023 he was included in a 61-person RICO indictment; the RICO charge was dismissed December 30, 2025. His domestic terrorism and arson charges remained pending as of July 2026.
