Man seen putting Molotov cocktail and ‘threatening note’ inside Travis County Democratic Party headquarters, investigators say
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Nothing is currently known about a suspect.
AUSTIN, Texas – Arson investigators are searching for a man who placed a Molotov cocktail and a “threatening letter” at the Travis County Democratic Party headquarters in downtown Austin in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
A small fire broke out in the headquarters at 1311 E. Sixth St. shortly after 2.15 a.m., and employees of the neighboring shops called 911 and put out the flames with a fire hydrant.
Brandon Jennings, a fire investigator with the Austin Fire Department, told a news conference later that morning that the video from the surveillance cameras showed a man looking around the building before throwing a stone at the front door window. According to reports, the man then comes back into view with a Molotov cocktail that he put in the doorway.
Jennings said he is also believed to have dropped a commercial smoke bomb on the door.
The building showed slight damage; at the time of the fire there were no employees in the building.
When asked whether the Molotov cocktail could have destroyed the building, the fire investigator said “absolutely”.
Katie Naranjo, Travis County’s Democratic Party leader, spoke at the press conference. She said the man left a threatening letter that was “political in nature”.
The man was described as wearing a gray shirt with black shorts, black and gray tennis shoes with a flag bandana on his head. He was wearing a mask.
Jennings, the fire investigator, said a building on the street called the Granger Building was destroyed about two hours after the fire broke out. The Travis County Ned Granger Administration Building is a government building.
PHOTOS: Fire damage at Travis County’s Democratic Party headquarters in Austin
The party leader said at the press conference that the surveillance cameras that recorded the incident were installed last year after someone else attacked the building on a smaller scale.
“I want to be clear,” she said. “This was an attack … The Democratic Party believes in freedom of expression, believes in your right to vote, and we will not be intimidated by anyone who acts cowardly into attacking a democratic institution, part of our democracy.”
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