Police in Wisconsin are investigating a man set a congressman on fire district office after the popular social media app TikTok was briefly blacked out in the United States, according to authorities.
Fond du Lac Police Department said the 19-year-old from Menasha who admitted to setting the fire in the office space rented to U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, police said officers along with the Fond du Lac Fire Department responded to Grothman’s office about a possible fire at the structure.
Police officers found the suspected arsonist near the strip mall shortly after putting out the fire.
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Police said the man admitted to setting the fire because he was upset about TikTok’s shutdown in the US (TikTok: REUTERS/Dado Fire: iStock)
Police said the man then admitted to officers that he set the fire “in response to recent discussions about banning TikTok.”
Grothman voted in favor of the bill to take down or “ban” TikTok.
Grothman reached out to Xu to respond to the alleged arson.
“No one was injured in the fire, and the damage was localized,” he wrote. “Thank you to the FDL firefighters and police officers for their quick response.”
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“We are relieved that no one was injured and the office was unoccupied at the time of the fire. Acts of violence in any form are not tolerated, and we remain committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our community,” Fond du Luc Police Chief Aaron Goldstein said in told Fox News Digital.
“I thank the quick reaction of our police officers who helped put out the fire and locate the suspect of arson.”
Officials said the suspect is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail and an arson charge has been referred to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office.
Fox News Digital has reached out to TikTok for comment on the alleged arson.
Police in Wisconsin say a 19-year-old man set fire to a congressman’s district office after the popular social media app TikTok was blacked out in the US (FOX 6 Milwaukee)
TikTok said on Sunday it was in the process of resuming operations in the US after President-elect Trump promised to issue an executive order to extend TikTok’s operations to Inauguration Day.
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The popular Chinese-owned social media platform was shut down on Saturday after Supreme Court he supported legislation to ban the app if it wasn’t sold in the United States.
US users reported that they were able to regain access to the app after Saturday’s power outage, and by Sunday afternoon users had seen a new message crediting Trump.
“Welcome back!” read the TikTok message. “Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
Earlier on Sunday, Trump wrote on TRUTH Social that he was “asking companies not to let TikTok stay in the dark!”
TikTok briefly went dark in the United States on Saturday night. (Jonathan Raa / Sipa USA)
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“On Monday, I will issue an executive order to extend the time period before the statutory bans go into effect, so we can make a deal to protect our national security,” the president-elect continued. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from stopping before my order.”
“The American people deserve to see our exciting inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” Trump said.
His post on Sunday did not clarify how soon the extension would take effect or specify how long it would last.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Tips and story ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
