(MENAFN- Live Mint) A 19-year-old man allegedly set fire to a local congressman's office and cited the TikTok ban as his motive, Police said on Sunday. According to local reports, the teen was arrested and charged with arson over the weekend.
The man was accused of setting fire at a strip mall in Wisconsin where Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman's office is located. He reportedly told authorities that he was motivated by the federal ban on the popular TikTok video-sharing platform.
The fire at a local strip mall in Fond du Lac was reported around 1 am on Sunday, 19 January. The building was unoccupied at the time and no injuries were reported, police were quoted the Associated Press as saying.
The fire began outside the building and caused minor damage before it was quickly extinguished by firefighters and police.
The teen "admitted to starting the fire in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban," police were quoted by People's magazine. "He is being held at Fond du Lac County Jail and will be referred to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney's Office," the Fond du Lac Police Department (FDLPD) said.
Following the fire, Grothman said in a statement on his X account on January 19 that "nobody was hurt in the fire and the damage has been contained." He thanked the FDL firefighters and police officers for their "swift response"
The 19-year-old Menasha man, whose name has not been released, was in custody and will be charged with arson, police said. They said he was arrested after he was seen near the mall watching the fire.
TikTok ban
Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman had voted last April for a bill mandating TikTok's China-based parent company to sell its US operation by Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
TikTok, the short-video app, is used by 170 million Americans.
The Supreme Court earlier ruled on January 17 that the law forcing TikTok to cease operations in the US if it didn't divest from Chinese ownership was constitutional.
The sell-or-ban legislation was previously passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year. This was after president-elect Donald Trump initially revealed a plan to ban TikTok from operating in the US during his first term in office in April 2020.
In a surprising turn of events, Donald Trump vowed to sign an executive order to give the app more time to strike a deal with the US government to keep it operating.
The company soon went online again, unafraid of repercussions for the time being.
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