WI man sets fire to congressman's office over TikTok ban

A 19-year-old Wisconsin man set fire to a building that included the office of Rep. Glenn Grothman because of the congressman's support for banning TikTok, authorities explained.

Emergency services were called to a strip mall on a report of a fire. When they got there, they saw that the building was unoccupied, and no injuries were reported.

However, just because no particular target was in the building does not mean the criminal picked this place at random.

Grothman's office is part of the building that was set aflame.

When the man was found near the scene, he "admitted to starting the fire in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban," according to the FDL Reporter.

Grothman gave a statement about the incident:

"I don't even know yet [what happened] other than somebody tried to set a fire over TikTok," Grothman said.

The suspect has been charged with arson.

"He was just sitting there watching it burn," Grothman added.

According to Newsmax, "A 19-year-old Wisconsin man set fire to a building that included the office of Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., on Sunday over the congressman's support for banning TikTok, authorities said."

Police and firefighters arrived at a strip mall in Fond du Lac at 1 a.m. on a report of a fire, the FDL Reporter said. The building was unoccupied, and no injuries were reported, police said.

The man, a Menasha resident, was found near the scene and "admitted to starting the fire in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban," the FDL Reporter said. The outlet added:

Grothman was one of 360 Congressman who voted for a bill requiring ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese company, to sell its app or be banned in the United States. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden.

As a result of the ban, TikTok went offline beginning Saturday night, though service was later restored on Sunday. The app remains unavailable to download on Androids and iPhones.

Grothman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the fire was contained to the outside the building. He said the fire did not appear to get inside but said a staff member who visited the scene told him the office smelled of smoke, the Journal Sentinel reported.