Wisconsin Teen Says Short-Lived TikTok Ban Was Motive for Allegedly Setting Fire to Local Congressman's Office: Police

Mar. 15, 2025

Social media user opens TikTok on their phone in March 2024.Photo:Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty

A Wisconsin teen was arrested and charged with arson over the weekend after police say he set fire to a local congressman’s office andcited the TikTok banas his motive.

Around 1 a.m. local time on Sunday, Jan. 19, the City of Fond du Lac Police Department (FDLPD) responded to reports of a fire at a local strip mall on N. Peters Avenue, which contained the district office of RepublicanU.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, according to a news release shared with PEOPLE.

Upon arriving at the scene, police “used fire extinguishers to hold the fire in check” until fire personnel arrived to put out the blaze. The FDLPD then located a 19-year-old man from Menasha near the strip mall.

The teen “admitted to starting the fire in response to recent talks of a TikTok ban,” according to police, before being arrested and charged with arson. He is being held at Fond du Lac County Jail and will be referred to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office, the FDLPD said.

“We are relieved that no one was injured and the office was unoccupied at the time of the fire," FDLPD Chief Aaron Goldstein said in a statement. “Acts of violence, in any form, are not tolerated, and we remain committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our community. I am thankful for the swift response of our officers in helping knock down the fire and also locating the suspect of this arson.”

Photo illustration of TikTok on a user’s phone in January 2025.MAEVA DESTOMBES/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty

MAEVA DESTOMBES/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty

According toABC News, the politician voted for a bill last April that mandated ByteDance — the Chinese owners of TikTok — to sell the app or shut down this weekend.

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The TikTok statement also thanked Trump, 78, who wrote on his Truth Social platform over the weekend that he intended to “save TikTok” and issue an executive order to stall the platform’s federal ban, at least temporarily.

Trump returns to office for his second term on Monday, Jan. 20.

source: people.com