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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A man seen on surveillance video wearing an American flag bandana as he tossed a Molotov cocktail into the headquarters of the Democratic Party District Office in Austin remained in custody Saturday, according to prison records.
Ryan Faircloth, 30, was arrested Friday and is on trial for arson and attempted arson, according to court documents. The documents didn’t say if Faircloth still had a lawyer.
No one was at the Travis County Democratic Party headquarters when it was attacked around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, and only a small pile of papers caught fire, officials said. The fire was quickly extinguished by employees of a neighboring shop.
Investigators received several leads after the surveillance video was released, according to a complaint from FBI task force officer Ryan Metcalf to federal court. One of the tips led to Faircloth’s social media.
Information found on the internet and other evidence led investigators to arson and the FBI arrested Faircloth, who admitted during questioning that he built the device and left it in the building, the complaint said.
“He described using a wine bottle, gasoline, and a sock to build the device. He admitted knowing that gasoline is flammable. He also confirmed his participation in the events, ”says the complaint.
Austin Fire investigator Captain Jeffrey Deane said Friday the attack was politically motivated.
“This person was not happy with the current political climate. He blamed that office and his representation for many of the problems he saw as problems with the country, ”said Deane. “He was accommodating and confessed.”
Authorities said in court documents that Faircloth left a note on the scene mentioning states and a city with Democratic majorities or Democratic federal legislators. Then it said, “One thing you can’t have is Texas” and “Consider this a“ slight ”warning,” according to a photo in the document.
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