Tag: arson

Antifa Rioters Charged With Arson And Assault In Portland

The Trump-led DOJ has charged four individuals in connection with the violent anti-ICE riots that broke out in June in Oregon. 

The defendants, some allegedly caught on video, spent several weeks targeting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and assaulting federal officers, prosecutors said in a press statement on Tuesday. 

One of the individuals, 31‑year‑old August Dean Gordon, pulled a proximity card reader from its stanchion on the facility’s driveway. He kicked, grabbed and injured five officers during his arrest, the DOJ said.  

That same evening, 33‑year‑old Nadya Malinowska refused orders to leave the site. Meanwhile, 35‑year‑old David Pearl attempted to interfere with officers’ arrest of another rioter. 

On June 11, prosecutors said 34-year-old Trenten Edward Barker retrieved a lit flare from his backpack and tossed it into a barricade of debris near the ICE facility. 

Malinowska and Pearl each face misdemeanor charges for failing to obey a lawful order; Pearl also face a count of creating a disturbance. 

Gordon and Barker are charged with willful depredation of government property and assaulting a federal officer. Barker additionally faces an arson charge. 

According to journalist Andy Ngo, the rioters are affiliated with Antifa.

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Top blue city councilor is arrested by FBI over arson and fraud plot

A city councilman in a small northern California community was arrested for allegedly burning down a farmhouse he owned so he and his accomplices could fraudulently collect on the insurance money.

Live Oak Vice Mayor Aaron Pamma, 30, was taken to jail Thursday along with his brother Simren Pamma, 28, who is a Live Oak Unified School District board member.

Also arrested for the alleged scheme was Gurtej Singh, 28, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

The fire in question happened in February of 2024, authorities say Singh purchased the property in April 2023 under a Department of Agriculture mortgage scheme.

One month after the purchase, Singh transferred half of the ownership of the land to the two brothers, the Butte County DA’s office said.

The office confirmed to CBS Sacramento that the two are brothers and are friends with Singh.

Cal Fire Investigators said they discovered that Singh had purchased insurance for the property three months before the blaze. 

After the fire, he then allegedly filed a false insurance claim on the property, officials said.

The property was sold on after the fire and the three collected an insurance payment which gave them a profit of $200,000, the DA’s office said.

The three are facing charges of arson, Aaron Pamma is facing additional charges of fraud, perjury, supporting a false insurance claim and conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud.

Simren Pamma is facing a charge of conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud. 

Singh meanwhile faces charges of fraud, wire fraud, destroying an insured property for fraud, presenting a false insurance claim and perjury. 

Another man, Javier Molina-Bravo, 37, was charged with felony counts of check fraud last March.

Authorities say Molina-Bravo runs Big Dog Handyman and was hired to renovate the farmhouse. 

It is alleged that he purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and materials from multiple businesses using checks on a non-existent bank account.

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Antifa Blog Posts Anonymous Confession Taking Credit for Arson Attack on Multiple NYPD Vehicles

An Antifa blog has posted an anonymous confession taking credit for an arson attack on multiple New York Police Department vehicles.

Eight NYPD vehicles parked near the 83rd precinct in Brooklyn were set on fire during the early morning of Thursday, June 12th.

A post to the anarchist blog “Never Sleep” titled “Solidarity with Los Angeles! Arson attack on multiple NYPD vehicles” was said to be written by the arsonist.

The post began, “Multiple NYPD cars were set on fire in the early, early morning of Thursday June 12th. The cars were just waiting there, practically begging for a new makeover! Tips on replicating this can be found on most counterinfo sites or just common knowledge; this was way easy. And so fun. Apologies to the community for the smell and the noise. And fuck you and haha to that pig—yeah, you know who you are.”

“There are many reasons for doing this, but for the sake of time it can be boiled down to four: 1) Solidarity with the uprising happening in Los Angeles where community and rebels are fighting Amerikkkan pig forces. From one cop city to another, death to the pigs and the surveillance state. 2) Revenge for the NYPD’s continuous physical and sexual harassment/assault of protestors, particularly femmes (incidents include removing of hijabs, forced nudity, degrading remarks, and more). 3) Something to show that repression breeds resistance and 4) Demonstrating that solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, immigrants, Black people doesn’t mean pointless demos where everyone gets arrested, endless marches to nowhere, and vapid chants. Solidarity means ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK!”

The post was signed, “Sincerely, the anarchists and the rats and the brats and the lawless.”

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British Police Investigate Mysterious Fires at Prime Minister’s Residence

British counterterrorism police are now reportedly  investigating a series of suspected arson attacks targeting properties associated with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, though authorities reported no injuries resulting from the incidents, which occurred over the past week.

The fires were set at two locations: a four-bedroom house in north London that Starmer currently rents out, and an apartment building where he once owned a residence. Additionally, a vehicle caught fire near one of the properties.

The Metropolitan Police have stated that, due to the connection to a high-profile public figure, the investigation is being led by their Counter Terrorism Command.

Starmer, who has served as Prime Minister since 2024, resides with his wife and children at the official residence on Downing Street.

The house in north London, which he rented out after moving to government housing, was the site of a fire in the early hours of Monday morning.

Earlier, on Sunday, flames were reported in the doorway of the apartment building linked to Starmer. The vehicle fire occurred in proximity to the house, prompting police to investigate potential links between all three incidents.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister expressed gratitude for the police’s efforts but refrained from offering further comments on the ongoing investigation.

The police have emphasized the seriousness of the situation, particularly given the implications of targeting a prominent political figure.

Local residents have expressed concern over the fires, noting the potential risks associated with such violent acts. “It’s alarming to think that something like this could happen so close to home,” said one neighbor, who requested anonymity.

“We expect our leaders to be safe, and it’s unsettling to see this kind of threat.”

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Teens’ Google Search History Helped Detectives Solve Horrific Denver Arson Murder Case

A reverse keyword search warrant served to Google helped Denver police identify three teens responsible for an arson attack that killed five members of a family in 2020.

Wired reports that in August 2020, a horrific arson attack in Denver, Colorado, claimed the lives of five members of a Senegalese family, including two children. The case initially left investigators stumped, with little evidence pointing to the perpetrators. However, a breakthrough came when Denver Police Department (DPD) detectives Neil Baker and Ernest Sandoval decided to serve a reverse keyword search warrant to Google, requesting information on users who had searched for the address of the victims’ home in the days leading up to the fire.

The warrant, which was met with initial resistance from Google due to privacy concerns, ultimately revealed that three local teenagers—Kevin Bui, Gavin Seymour, and Dillon Siebert—had repeatedly searched for the address on Google in the two weeks prior to the arson. This information, combined with cell phone location data placing the teens near the scene of the crime, provided the key evidence needed to arrest and charge them.

The case highlights the growing use of reverse keyword search warrants by law enforcement. These warrants allow police to request information on all individuals who searched for specific keywords or phrases, potentially exposing innocent people to unwarranted scrutiny.

In this instance, the teens’ defense argued that the warrant violated their Fourth Amendment rights by conducting a broad “digital dragnet” without individualized probable cause. However, the judge ruled in favor of law enforcement, likening the search to looking for a needle in a haystack.

The Colorado Supreme Court later upheld the constitutionality of the warrant in a landmark ruling, potentially paving the way for wider use of this investigative technique. However, the court also acknowledged the lack of individualized probable cause, deeming the warrant “constitutionally defective” despite allowing the evidence to stand.

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Dating app killer whose cover-up of grisly crime led to one of the worst fires in California history thrown behind bars for life

An online date that led to murder, arson, deceit, more deaths and one of the worst fires in California’s history has finally ended with a guilty verdict and prison sentence.

Victor Serriteno, 33, was convicted Friday in the 2020 killing of a single mom he had met through a dating app — as well as the murders of two additional victims who burned to death in a fire he set to cover his tracks, according to KSW Action News.

Serriteno, of Vacaville, was found guilty of multiple counts of murder and arson in Solano County Superior Court and sentenced to 73 years-to-life in state prison, according to the district attorney’s office.

He had pleaded no contest.

The convicted killer met his victim, Priscilla Castro, a 32-year-old mother from Vallejo, on the evening of Aug. 16, 2020, after arranging a meeting through a dating app.

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Fire Breaks Out in British PM Starmer’s London House – Arson Suspected, Counterterrorism Police Investigating

On the very same day that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to cut migration to the Kingdom, his North London home reportedly caught fire – or was set on fire.

The fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, and British police is now investigating the case.

GB News reported:

“The London Fire Brigade attended the property in north London after they received reports of a blaze at around 1.30am on Monday. The door to the four-bedroom property was damaged but nobody was injured.”

Met Police: “The fire is being investigated and cordons remain in place while enquiries continue.”

London Fire Brigade: “The [fire] brigade was called at 1.11am and the fire was under control by 1.33am. Two fire engines from Kentish Town fire station attended the scene.”

Downing Street spokesman: “The Prime Minister thanks the emergency services for their work.”

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Second teen accused of sparking NJ wildfire that has torched 15K acres in Pine Barrens

A second teenager is accused of sparking the massive wildfire in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens.

A 17 year-old boy was charged with aggravated arson and hindering apprehension Wednesday for helping to ignite the fire that has burned more than 15,000 acres, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. He is not being identified because he is a minor.

Police say the teen helped Joseph Kling, 19, set wooden pallets on fire and that he lied to police about how the fire started.

Kling was arrested last week and charged with aggravated arson. He now faces an additional charge of hindering apprehension.

New Jersey firefighters battled the fierce blaze in the southern part of the state that took days to contain, and was thought to be the largest wildfire in the Garden State in the last 20 years.

A column of smoke was first spotted from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower in Barnegat Township on April 22, and the fire quickly spread out of control, forcing the evacuation of 5,000 residents, and cutting electricity to 25,000 Garden Staters.

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Silent On Tesla Attacks, Shapiro Calls For ‘Moral Clarity’ On Arson At His Mansion

When a man threw two Molotov cocktails into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion April 13, torching several rooms as Gov. Josh Shapiro and family slept upstairs, it set off a nonstop parade of national media appearances where Shapiro admonished the general public about political violence.  

“This type of violence has no place in our society,” Shapiro said in a piece for The New York Times this week. He has repeated that sentiment almost verbatim in interviews and press conferences.  

He called for “this type of violence” to be “universally condemned,” during a sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos filmed in the charred mansion’s dining room. “I think every single leader has a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity and condemn this kind of violence,” Shapiro told Stephanopoulos.

But moral clarity gets fuzzy for Shapiro and the left when victims are on the right, or the criminals are loved by the left.

Who on the left has condemned the attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships? Not Shapiro, even as protest rhetoric gets more fervent and participation curtails business operations. The left has either participated in such events or cheered it on.  

Where is the condemnation of the February incident at Pennsylvania state Rep. Alec Ryncavage’s office? A man was caught on a surveillance camera throwing two “firebomb-like devices,” at the Republican’s legislative district office. A spokeswoman for Ryncavage’s office confirmed Shapiro never reached out to him over the incident.

Shapiro likes to remind everyone that he condemned violence when President Donald Trump was shot in the head while on the campaign trail in Butler. And he did.

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Democrats Normalized The Same Political Violence That Torched PA Governor’s Mansion

Political violence flared again in Pennsylvania on Sunday in another troubling example of an apparent nutjob who seemingly imbibed the leftist paradigm that legitimizes the use of force.

Cody Balmer — the Harrisburg man accused of torching the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family, and some guests slept inside — was charged Sunday with terrorism, attempted homicide, aggravated arson, and other related charges, according to a Pennsylvania State Police criminal complaint.

State police say Balmer was captured on several security cameras, and a woman contacted police and said that “her ex-paramour, Cody Balmer [38] was the individual responsible for setting the fire.” She told police he confessed to her and “wanted her to call police to turn him in.” Soon, he was outside police headquarters where he approached a state trooper and turned himself in, the complaint said.

Balmer told police he put gasoline from his lawnmower into two beer bottles and carried these homemade Molotov cocktails and a sledgehammer from his house, on a nearly four-mile walk through Harrisburg, to the mansion. Security cameras show he scaled the fence, broke a window, threw one bottle into the piano room, then broke another window, went inside, and deployed the second one to burn the dining room.

Balmer told police he knew it was possible Shapiro could be inside the mansion and might get injured, and when asked what he would have done if Shapiro had caught Balmer inside the home, Balmer “advised he would have beaten him with his hammer,” the complaint said. “During the interview, Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro.”

“This type of violence is not OK,” Shapiro said in a press conference on Sunday, and he is right. But this type of violence is celebrated by Democrats and their left-wing media.   

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