John Jefferson
Inset: Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman (Facebook). Background: The office of Rep. Glenn Grothman where a fire was started over the weekend (WISN/YouTube).
The office of a congressman in Wisconsin was targeted in an arson attack sparked by a 19-year-old man upset over the “recent talks of a TikTok ban,” according to police.
Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Republican, had voted in April 2024 in favor of the bill that mandated TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, cease U.S. operations by Sunday, Jan. 19, with the move being upheld by a Supreme Court ruling last week.
The Fond du Lac Police Department reported in a press release Sunday that Grothman’s office, which is located in a strip mall in Fond du Lac, was targeted overnight by a man who police have not publicly named yet. The individual was allegedly livid over the prospect of a TikTok ban, which went into effect Sunday — temporarily, it turned out — before being lifted by the social media giant just 14 hours later.
“At approximately 1:02 a.m., FDLPD Officers along with the City of Fond du Lac Fire Rescue responded for a possible structure fire at 525 N. Peters Avenue,” the department reported. “FDLPD Officers arrived and used fire extinguishers to hold the fire in check until Fire Companies arrived and extinguished the fire. FDLPD Officers located a 19-year-old Menasha male resident near the strip mall. The male admitted to starting the fire in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban.”
FDLPD Chief Aaron Goldstein explained in a statement that accompanied the department press release that no one was injured in the fire as Grothman’s office was unoccupied at the time. Still, the attack is being treated as a serious offense, Goldstein says.
“Acts of violence in any form are not tolerated, and we remain committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our community,” Goldstein said. “I am thankful for the swift response of our Officers in helping knock down the fire and also locating the suspect of this arson.”
The U.S. TikTok ban was carried out late Saturday at around 10:35 p.m. ET, according to reports.
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” a message read when users tried opening the app. “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
Fourteen hours later, a welcome message was implemented saying President Donald Trump had promised to “work” with ByteDance “on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
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Grothman on Sunday told local ABC affiliate WISN that the fire at his office is a perfect example of what not to do when upset with your congressman or things they voted for.
“The TikTok issue is really secondary,” Grothman said. “I deal with, obviously, dozens of issues up here and we cannot have people if they disagree with me say the way to settle that disagreement is, ‘Let’s try and burn down the congressman’s office.””
Police say the suspect is being held at the Fond du Lac County Jail on a charge of arson, with his case being referred to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office on Sunday. “More information is anticipated to be released if and when a criminal complaint is filed by the District Attorney’s Office,” FDLPD officials said.
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