The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms is offering $70,000 in rewards for help identifying 14 individuals believed to be responsible for setting fires in Minneapolis and St. Paul during recent protests.
The money is broken down to $5,000 per suspect, and is being offered in addition to the previous two awards the ATF issued in relation to looting and arson incidents in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
“We have methodically worked each of the fire scenes, collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and reviewing video footage to help us solve these arson cases,” William Henderson, special agent in charge of the St. Paul Field Division, said in a statement Monday. “We’ve narrowed in on particular individuals who we suspect started one or more fires throughout the Twin Cities. We would appreciate any assistance the public is willing to provide in order to bring these investigations to a successful conclusion.”
The press release is accompanied by five pages of images showing the suspects. Here’s the first page (the photo above is from page two).
Some individuals suspected in arson cases have already been identified and charged:
https://twitter.com/webster/status/1271260859411529728
But for those who haven’t been identified, ATF offices around the country have been making similar reward offers in the past several days:
Recognize the man or the car in this video? Then call 1-800-ATF-TIPS. Help solve this arson at Chase Bank, 8800 West Brown Deer Rd. in Milwaukee on June 2. Milwaukee Field Office @ATF_Chicago @MilwaukeePolice & @EDWInews investigating. More at https://t.co/YhibhBdxyB pic.twitter.com/1o5ON4QQBU
— ATF Chicago (@ATF_Chicago) June 11, 2020
The reward is now $15,000 for information on those responsible for the arson fire at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. on May 31. ATF/DC Arson & Explosives Task Force, with @dcpolicedept and @dcfireems are investigating and ask for the public’s assistance. pic.twitter.com/tXzPZz4Z7V
— ATF Washington (@ATFWashington) June 11, 2020
$5K REWARD for info related to the arrest of those responsible for the Sake House arson, in Santa Monica, CA, on May 31. Investigation being conducted by @LosAngelesATF & @SantaMonicaPD. Call (310) 458-8414 or (310) 458-2201 ext. 6679 See photos at https://t.co/ltj8xaVFvg pic.twitter.com/VyWaOlv09G
— ATF Los Angeles (@LosAngelesATF) June 10, 2020
.@ATFKansasCity, Des Moines Field Office and @DMPolice continue to seek the publics help in id’ing this individual involved in the attempted arson of the Polk County Court House. $5000 reward. Call 1-888-ATF-TIPS or text ATFKC to 63975 with info pic.twitter.com/c3IaXlPZQ8
— ATF Kansas City (@ATFKansasCity) June 15, 2020
CNN’s Brian Stelter complained last week that right-leaning media outlets were living in the past by continuing to show scenes of rioting, looting and arson which happened (gasp) two whole weeks ago. What this ATF press release highlights is that while the fires are no longer burning the story isn’t over. CNN may have decided it’s past time to stop talking about riots and arson but police are still trying to locate and prosecute dozens of individuals across the country who were involved in these crimes. Following those cases would seem to be news but that doesn’t mean it will it get any traction beyond local news outlets. Maybe CNN will run a story on this but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen if I were you.
