‘Suspicious’ Fire Torches Trump Supporter’s Garage, Graffiti On Garage Stated: ‘Biden 2020,’ ‘BLM’

Law enforcement officials in Minnesota are investigating a fire that burned down a garage and three vehicles at a Trump-supporting household during the early morning hours on Wednesday, calling the the fire “suspicious” and saying that the matter was under investigation.

“This morning, at 3:48am our house was supposedly targeted by BLM/Antifa,” the family wrote in a Facebook post. “We woke up to a loud explosion, and saw that our camper was on fire, along with both of Dennis ‘s trucks, his garage and our entire back yard. Thank God our main house is safe. We are safe. Our children are safe. Thank you so much to the Brooklyn Center Police Department, Minnesota for helping us get our family out of the house, and a special thanks to officer C. Jordan and another officer and firefighters for saving our dogs. He said it was so hot they almost had to leave them. Thank you God we are alive and safe, and pray that justice is served.”

Dennis Molla, an immigrant who moved to the U.S. from Ukraine, told the Star Tribune: “I think things have gotten way out of control. I’m not one of those confrontational people. … I just feel very sorry for my parents, just because they wanted to leave the USSR for us to have a better future and life in America. … For them to see me express my beliefs as a Republican, it’s crazy to think it came down to this.”

Deana Molla recalled another troubling incident that allegedly happened a couple of weeks ago while Dennis was working downtown at a construction site. Someone reportedly drove by and took pictures of his vehicle, which was displaying a Trump flag, and feces were later left in the vehicle.

A Twin Cities family believes they were targeted for having a "Trump 2020" sign outside their home. An investigation is underway after police say someone spray painted "Biden 2020" on their garage and burned it down." | https://t.co/nyx7XcstcG pic.twitter.com/ZkZFJgKEZm

— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) September 23, 2020

The Brooklyn Center Police Department in Minnesota released the following statement on Wednesday:

Just before 4:00 am, Brooklyn Center police officers and firefighters were dispatched to the report of an explosion and fire in the area of 69th Ave N and Morgan Ave N in Brooklyn Center. Officers located a fire at a residence in the 6900 block of Morgan Ave N. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, but not before a detached three car garage and three vehicles were destroyed. There was minor damage to the house. There were no injuries during this incident. Officers and firefighters were able to save the three dogs in kennels and four puppies located in the garage.* This fire is considered suspicious and our investigation remains extremely active. The home occupants had a fairly large “Trump 2020” sign that was destroyed, and our officers observed what appeared to be fresh spray paint on the garage before it burned down. The spray paint included “Biden 2020”, “BLM” and capital letter “A” with a circle around it.

Our Brooklyn Center Police and Fire Departments were, and continue to be, assisted by the following: North Memorial Ambulance, Hennepin County Crime Lab, Hennepin County Fire Investigation Team, MN State Fire Marshall Office, ATF, and FBI.

The Minnesota Arson Reward Project – IAAI – is offering rewards of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification of persons responsible for this fire.