Minnesota Man Sets Police Precinct On Fire During Floyd Protests, Charged With Arson

A Minnesota man accused of starting a fire that burned down a police precinct during the first wave of protests in the state over George Floyd’s death has been slapped with an arson charge.

Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, of St. Paul, was charged in federal court with aiding and abetting arson at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct, the United States Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota said in a statement Monday (June 8).

The precinct went up in flames May 28 at around 11:00 p.m. (EST), and police officers had to be airlifted by a helicopter from the rooftop, Fox News reported. The blaze was set a short distance away from the location of the police stationhouse.

The police arrested Wolfe on June 3 following a complaint during which they were called to a Menards home improvement store in St. Paul where Wolfe had worked as a security guard. He was fired that day after social media posts mentioned him stealing items from the same police precinct. Authorities were told a person wearing police equipment was attempting to barge into the store. The cops identified the person as Wolfe.

The arresting officers noted he was wearing body armor as well as a police duty belt with handcuffs, an earphone piece, a baton, and a knife. In addition to that, police recovered a 9mm pistol, police radio, riot helmet, and a police-issued overdose kit from his apartment after running a search, according to the police report.

Wolfe admitted to being the person present inside the police precinct on the night of fire and confessed he ran off with police property after pushing a wooden barrel into the fire to keep it burning.

He also identified himself in the photos featuring him in front of the burning station with a police baton, with smoke and flames visible in the background, the statement added.

Wolfe is set to make his first court appearance Tuesday (June 9). He is currently being held in the Hennepin County jail.