Banned Democrat Volunteer Arrested in Arson of Arizona Democratic Party Headquarters

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Jul 29, 2020

A former Democratic volunteer has been arrested in the arson of the Arizona Democratic Party headquarters on Wednesday, refuting the notion of the crime being political in nature and suggesting it was the work of a malcontent former party operative.

Matthew Egler, 29, was arrested at his Peoria home for the arson attack at the party offices in Phoenix- reportedly after confessing to the crime on social media.

Egler had worked as a full-time volunteer for the Arizona Democratic Party from 2015 to 2016, but appears to have been recently banned from appearing at party functions and events for unknown reasons.

The Twitter account belonging to Egler is filled with bizarre postings, including an obsession with Ivanka Trump. In some of his video uploads, he speaks of being mentally ill and mentions that his father was seeking to have him committed.

Egler appears to have deployed firewood and incendiary fluid to set fire to the back of the Democratic Party headquarters. His arson attempt only damaged the section of the office utilized by the Maricopa County Democrats, who were subletting part of the building from the state Democratic Party.

Some had speculated that the seemingly political crime was the responsibility of a Republican or right-wing ideologue, but the involvement of the mentally ill former Democrat volunteer appears to preclude that possibility.

What an idiot.