A 19-year-old has been arrested and charged after allegedly trying to burn down the Dickinson County Republican Party headquarters in Iron Mountain, Michigan, on Saturday with a Molotov cocktail in a “politically motivated attack.”
According to WLUC, 19-year-old Zayn Arcand was arraigned on Monday and has been charged for arson and for the manufacturing and possession of explosives.
An Iron Mountain Police Department press release obtained by WLUC indicates that police officials were notified on Sunday regarding a suspicious person outside the Dickinson County Republican Party headquarters who was trying to start a fire with a rag in a bottle.
Police officials confirmed that Arcand was identified due to a security camera that showed the 19-year-old throwing a bottle toward the headquarters building. WLUC reported that law enforcement officials arrested Arcand following the incident on Saturday.
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According to WLUC, the Iron Mountain Police Department noted that the 19-year-old suspect admitted to making explosive devices in his driveway and throwing a bottle at the Republican headquarters building to “send a message against the corruption.”
Sharing a picture of Arcand and a video of Saturday’s incident, Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad tweeted, “On Saturday, a liberal Antifa scumbag threw a Molotov cocktail at the Dickinson County Republican County headquarters. Fortunately, the beta scumbag didn’t have enough arm strength to get his bomb through the window.”
“The business next door caught the scumbag in the act, and he was arrested and is now facing charges,” Runestad added. “This is the kind of violence the Left is generating across the board with their absolute intolerance of any view that doesn’t adhere to their dogma.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee also released a statement, claiming that Saturday’s incident was a “politically motivated attack.”
WLUC reported that Ray and Barb Broullire, the owners of the building that serves as the Dickinson County Republican Party headquarters, said they were “very concerned” about Saturday’s attempted arson incident.
“We were very concerned,” Ray Broullire said. “Not to mention there’s people in this building. It was a Saturday, thank goodness. You know, that was a big plus. But yeah, when something like that happens, you just kind of expect the worst. We’re glad it worked out the way it did.”
A video shared by Libs of TikTok appears to show Arcand admitting that he identifies as “sexually fluid,” “genderfluid,” and “ambiamorous.”