Dmitri Cimber is a main protagonist in The First Purge. He is portrayed by Y'lan Noel.
Biography[]
Dmitri is introduced as the powerful and feared leader of a major drug operation in Staten Island. Despite his criminal background, he maintains a strict code of ethics and looks out for his community, including his ex-girlfriend, Nya Charms, and her younger brother, Isaiah. When the government first announces the concoction of "The Purge", an experiment on Staten Island to allow citizens to release their inhibitions for a 12-hour period, he initially dismisses it as a government ploy and advises his men to stay out of it, preferring to use the night to consolidate his power rather than engage in the violence to eliminate rival gangs.
However, on the night of the Purge, Dmitri realizes that it is not a natural outbreak of violence, but a government-orchestrated experiment designed to exterminate the lower-class citizens, particularly targeting Black and Latino communities. As the Purge escalates, he realizes that the government has sent in highly trained mercenaries disguised as ordinary citizens to massacre the poor. Recognizing the injustice, he takes up arms to protect his community.
During the defence, Dmitri is nearly assassinated by his own men, who were bribed by the government to take him out. He fights them off in a brutal hand-to-hand battle, eventually being able to kill them. He also receives intel that Nya and Isaiah are trapped in an apartment building, where he and his gang goes over to rescue them and other trapped refugees. He single-handedly takes on a squad of trained mercenaries, eliminating them one by one. However, most of his gang were eventually killed by government drones raining bullets on them, with Lorenzo in particular saving Dmitri before getting shot to death himself.
After the Purge concludes, Dmitri emerges as the de facto protector of Staten Island. He recognizes the government’s true intentions and vows to stand against them.