According to the death certificate, Joshua Conant was murdered

The death of a 26-year-old man outside a Port Huron bar in November was ruled a homicide by the county coroner.

A copy of the death certificate obtained by the Times Herald revealed the cause of Joshua Conant's death, stating that the murder occurred by “cardiac arrest as a result of physical subjugation with restraint in a prone position.”

Conant died at approximately 2:15 a.m. on November 4 after several bouncers at the Roche Bar were observed rushing at him, apparently in an attempt to restrain him.

An employee at the bar called 911, and a Port Huron Police Department officer arrived and handcuffed Conant. She then found Conant unresponsive. Attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was later pronounced dead.

Conant's death sparked uproar in Port Huron and the Blue Water area. Several witnesses compared it to the 2020 murder of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck while restraining him. Conant's family has organized rallies and fundraisers in his support. The slogan #JusticeforJosh has been used at protests, on bumper stickers and on billboards. The Roche Bar has remained closed since the incident.