…when one or more arsonists firebombed my organization’s offices. The perpetrators broke into the building where we were located and set two fires, one on the first floor of the building and one on the third floor. They poured gasoline as an accelerant, lit the fires and fled.
The crime has never been solved. The FBI and ATF investigated, and they have video of the perpetrators’ car leaving the scene. But the license plates are obscured. The criminals (I think of the crime as being perpetrated by two arsonists, but it could possibly have been done by a single person) are presumed to be liberals of some stripe; I tend to think they were Antifa. But since they haven’t been caught, we don’t know for sure.
Our old building was substantially destroyed and to my knowledge has never been repaired. This is what our corridor looked like after the arson:
We are now in a new building in a different suburb. Today we put out this press release. My comments linked the arson two years ago to the violence we are seeing today in the streets of Minneapolis:
American Experiment Marks Two Year Anniversary of Arson Fire
Public policy group no stranger to left-wing violence
(Minnetonka, MN) It’s been two years since the Golden Valley offices of Center of the American Experiment were firebombed by arsonists, resulting in significant fire damage to the building. The fire was investigated as a deliberate act of arson by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Hennepin County Fire Investigation team. No suspects have been identified, and no arrests have been made.
American Experiment moved to different office space in Minnetonka because of the arson fire. A $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the arsonist (or arsonists) is still available. Anyone with information can contact the FBI office locally at (763) 569-8000 or visit tips.fbi.gov www.tips.fbi.gov.
“The left-wing violence we’re seeing in the streets of Minneapolis right now is nothing new,” said John Hinderaker, American Experiment’s president. “Our ‘Minnesota Nice’ reputation was damaged by riots in 2020, hurt further by our 2024 arson fire, and damaged even more by today’s attacks on federal agents.”
The fires occurred around 2:00 am on Sunday January 28, 2024, and were started outside the first-floor offices of American Experiment and TakeCharge, and in the third-floor offices of Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC). The second floor had no visible fire damage. The three-story building housed a variety of small businesses in addition to the three conservative policy organizations.
