Federal authorities are probing a fire that broke out in a building home to three conservative organizations as a potential arson attack, the Daily Caller News Foundation has confirmed.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is investigating a Sunday morning fire in the shared office building of three conservative groups outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a potential act of arson, an ATF official told the DCNF. The official did not disclose who may be targeted in the investigation, or what their potential motivations may have been.
The damaged building, located in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is home to the Center for the American Experiment (CAE), the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) and TakeCharge. Other organizations also rent space in the building, but their offices were apparently spared any significant damage. (RELATED: Pro-Life Groups Sound The Alarm Over Repeated Attacks, Call Out FBI, DOJ For Not Doing Enough)
Before and after of the hallway separating @MNThinkTank & @TakeChargeMN pic.twitter.com/zYjLoIzho7
— Kathryn Hinderaker (@KathrynHindy) February 1, 2024
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is involved in the probe of the fire, as are several other local and state agencies and investigative bodies, the ATF official told the DCNF.
“The fires were obviously set by someone. They targeted conservative organizations. They didn’t firebomb the chiropractors or psychologists or Manufacturers Alliance,” John Hinderaker, CAE’s president, said of the potential attack. “We are working with authorities to try to identify the perpetrators.”
CAE focuses its work on analyzing and crafting policy on topics ranging from the economy and energy to the family, while the UMLC endeavors “to pursue pro-freedom litigation safeguarding against government overreach, left-wing special interest agendas, constitutional violations, and public union corruption.” TakeCharge, meanwhile, is “committed to countering the prevailing narrative in popular culture that America is structured to undermine the lives of black Americans.”
“It’s deeply troubling that we may have been a target of arson — an act of domestic terrorism — because of the work we do on behalf of the people of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest,” James Dickey, assistant general counsel for the UMLC, said of the fire. “Most importantly, we’re grateful that our team is safe and, to our knowledge, nobody was harmed in the fire.”
While other organizations in the building were spared from damage, the structure will be uninhabitable for an extended period of time, which could hurt their businesses, according to Alpha News.
“Attempts to silence us won’t work,” Kendall Qualls, the president of TakeCharge, said of the potential arson attack. “This act emboldens us to be stronger and louder.”
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