A teenager allegedly set a Wisconsin strip mall on fire, which houses a congressman’s office, in protest of the federal ban on the popular TikTok video-sharing app. The 19-year-old man from Menasha, whose identity has not been revealed, is in custody and faces arson charges, according to police.
Republican Representative Glenn Grothman had voted last April in favor of a bill requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell its U.S. operations by Sunday. The fire at Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac was reported around 1 a.m. Grothman was lucky to escape the fire as the building was empty at the time, and no injuries were reported, according to police.
Lucky Escape
X
The small fire started outside the building, causing minor damage before it was swiftly brought under control by Fond du Lac police and firefighters who responded to the scene.
Officers from the Fond du Lac Police Department (FDLPD) were the first to arrive, using fire extinguishers to contain the flames until the City of Fond du Lac Fire Rescue teams arrived to fully extinguish the blaze.
Chief Aaron Goldstein praised the prompt actions of both law enforcement and firefighters in handling the situation. “We are relieved that no one was injured and the office was unoccupied at the time of the fire,” he stated.
“Acts of violence, in any form, are not tolerated, and we remain committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our community. I am thankful for the swift response of our officers in helping knock down the fire and locating the suspect of this arson.”
The suspect is currently being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail as authorities work on filing charges with the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office.
Arson Charges Against Suspect
The man is accused of starting the fire, reportedly motivated by anger over the temporary TikTok ban that lasted approximately 12 hours on Saturday night. According to police, the teenager was arrested after being spotted near the strip mall, watching the fire.
“The TikTok issue is really secondary. I mean, I deal with obviously dozens of issues up here, and we cannot have people – if they disagree with me – say the way to settle that disagreement is let’s try to burn down the congressman’s office,” Grothman told WISN 12 News.
After a brief outage this weekend, Trump announced on his social media platform that he would issue an executive order after being sworn in for a second term on Monday. The order would delay the TikTok ban “so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”
He said that the directive would ensure companies are not penalized for violating the law requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell its U.S. operations.
Just hours later, the app was back online, much to the relief of its many devoted users.
