Overview
- Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker sentenced 20-year-old Caiden Stachowicz to seven years in prison followed by seven years of extended supervision.
- Stachowicz pleaded no contest to felony arson in November, and prosecutors dismissed charges including attempted burglary, property damage, and making terrorist threats.
- Police said he set the fire outside Rep. Glenn Grothman’s Fond du Lac office on Jan. 19, 2025, admitted starting it, and cited anger over the congressman’s vote targeting TikTok.
- According to the criminal complaint, he bought gasoline and matches, failed to break a window, then poured fuel on an electrical unit and around the building, later saying he sought disruption and did not intend to harm anyone.
- District Attorney Eric Toney said the punishment is meant to deter attacks on public servants, and reporting notes Congress pushed ByteDance to divest while a U.S. TikTok deal was recently finalized after presidential deadline extensions.