The FBI is on the lookout for the perpetrator of an arson in late January at a conservative think tank in Minnesota, and the victims — the conservative organizations — are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the arsonist or arsonists behind the attack.
John Hinderaker is a 73-year-old lawyer in Minneapolis who occasionally writes articles for the Power Line Blog. Hinderaker is also the president of the Center of the American Experiment, one of the conservative organizations in the think tank that the arsonist attacked.
FBI ATF investigating possible arson attack that destroyed the offices of three conservative groups in Minnesota pic.twitter.com/nFACN2ubzO
— 🇺🇲Salty Texan (@texan_maga) February 3, 2024
“They targeted conservative organizations, they didn’t firebomb the chiropractors or psychologists or the Manufacturers Alliance,” Hinderaker said about the $15,000 reward to help turn in the arsonist responsible. “The free flow of ideas does not work when one side resorts to violence. We want these people caught and are willing to offer this reward to make it happen.”
Hinderaker wrote on the Power Line Blog next to a photo of a melted down hallway outside his organization’s office, “At around 2 am, they broke into the building that houses Center of the American Experiment and two other conservative organizations with which we often collaborate, along with many other businesses.”
“The arsonists set two fires: one was in the first floor corridor between American Experiment’s office and the space we sublease to Take Charge, Kendall and Sheila Qualls’ organization,” he recounted. “A second fire was set on the third floor, immediately outside or perhaps actually inside the office of the Upper Midwest Law Center, on whose board I serve.”
Over the weekend, a building housing three of the most prominent conservative organizations in Minnesota was set on fire.
It’s being investigated by the ATF as arson.
Here’s how Minnesota Democrat State Rep @AndySmithMN reacted to the news. pic.twitter.com/EKngrSUtLR
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 1, 2024
“I am working with the FBI to try to identify the perpetrators,” Hinderaker said in the statement. “As I told them, the list of potential suspects is long, as my organization is active, and unusually effective, across a broad range of issues. I will have more to say about this before long.”
Hinderaker told the Daily Wire his organization is “involved with things that tick off liberals, but said he doesn’t know of anything in particular going on that he could confidently point to as a likely cause of the attack.
“Regardless of the attacks, we’ll continue to educate all Americans on the truth Progressives want to keep hidden from public view,” the organization stated. “We were targeted because we are a conservative black organization and we refuse to trumpet the mantra of systemic racism and march to the beat of the DEI drum.”
