Bail has been set at $500,000 cash for a Menasha teen accused of setting fire to Republican congressman Glenn Grothman’s Fond du Lac office because he was upset over the TikTok ban. Nineteen year old Caiden Stachowicz made his initial Fond du Lac court appearance Wednesday on multiple charges including arson to a building, attempted burglary, criminal damage to property and terrorist threats. According to a criminal complaint Stachowicz admitted to setting the fire because he was upset TikTok was being shut down by the US government and congressman Grothman voted yes to shut down TikTok. He told police he believed the shutdown was against his constitutional rights. Stachowicz said had done peaceful protests in the past, but believes peace isn’t an option anymore. Stachowicz said he didn’t want anyone to get hurt and didn’t believe anyone was in the building when he set the fire. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 30th. District Attorney Toney stated “We are grateful for the quick actions of the Fond du Lac Police and Fire Departments that ensured nobody was injured in this attack and prevented more significant property damage. We will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone that attempts to intimidate government officials from performing their lawful duties, regardless of whether we agree with the government action.” The matter remains under investigation by the City of Fond du Lac Police Department with assistance from the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Anyone who has any information related to this investigation, is asked to contact Detective Vance Henning of the Fond du Lac Police Department at 920-322-3725.
