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ThinkingSapien
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MINNEAPOLIS
Man charged with arson of Minneapolis Third Precinct station
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)An image from federal charges against Branden Wolfe show his arrest in St. Paul, where he was wearing a tactical vest and police-issue duty belt.
— Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives
By DAVID CHANEN , STAR TRIBUNE
June 09, 2020 - 5:22 AM
A former Menards store security guard was charged Monday with arson that damaged the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct building following the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody.
Branden M. Wolfe, 23, of St. Paul, is the first person to be charged in connection with the Third Precinct building fire. Hundreds of businesses were damaged in south Minneapolis and St. Paul in the aftermath of Floyd’s death on Memorial Day.
The Third Precinct was overrun and heavily damaged from vandalism and arson May 28. Investigators identified several separate fires started in the building. In an interview with law enforcement, Wolfe admitted to being inside the Third Precinct the night of the arson, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul.