AUSTIN — Investigators in Texas have arrested a man suspected of throwing a Molotov cocktail inside Travis County Democratic Party headquarters in Austin.
The actions were caught on surveillance video.
A fire official says 30-year-old Ryan Faircloth was booked Friday in the Travis County jail.
The incendiary device did not ignite when it was thrown at the Travis County Democratic Party headquarters at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Austin Fire Capt. Brandon Jennings said. A small stack of papers was set on fire, but that was quickly put out by employees of a neighboring business using a fire extinguisher.
No one was in the office at the time, Travis County Democratic Party Chairwoman Katie Naranjo said, but the incident was caught on security cameras. A note was left with a politically motivated threat, Naranjo said.
Video showed the suspect was wearing an American flag bandanna at the time of the attack.
“Anyone who wears an American flag as a bandana and then throws a Molotov cocktail ... into a building and leaves a note, a threatening note, is a coward,” she said.
Authorities did not release the contents of the note.
He is charged with arson and possessing a prohibited weapon. Investigators received a tip leading to Faircloth's social media that led FBI to make the arrest.
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