St. Paul Man Charged In Connection With Minneapolis PD Arson

ST. PAUL, MN – A 23-year-old St. Paul man has been charged with aiding and abetting arson at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct during the unrest following the death of George Floyd, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Branden M. Wolfe was charged after investigators determined he was involved with multiple fires that were set at the police precinct on May 28. As protests began following the death of Floyd, who died when a former Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, the Third Precinct building was overrun and heavily damaged due to arson.

Wolfe is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Tuesday afternoon.

On June 3, investigators responded to a home improvement store in St. Paul after receiving a complaint that an individual – later identified by officials as Wolfe – was seen wearing body armor and a police duty belt trying to get into the store. According to a news release, Wolfe had been employed as a security guard at the store but had been fired earlier in the day after referring to social media posts about stealing items from the Third Precinct.

At the time of his arrest, Wolfe was wearing multiple items stolen from the precinct including body armor, the duty belt with handcuffs, an earphone piece, a police baton and a knife, authorities said. The release stated that Wolfe had hand-written his last name across a strip of duct tape stretched across the back of the body armor.

Several more items from the precinct, including a riot helmet, a 9mm pistol magazine, police overdose kit and a police radio were discovered at Wolfe’s apartment, officials said. During an interview law enforcement officials say Wolfe admitted to being inside the Third Precinct the night of the arson, to taking property from the building, and to pushing a wooden barrel into the fire.

Wolfe also identified himself in multiple witness photographs depicting him in front of the Third Precinct holding a police baton, with smoke and flames visible in the background, officials said. In his statement, law enforcement said Wolfe confirmed that he pushed a wooden barrel into the fire, knowing that it would help keep the fire burning. Investigators recovered from the scene charred metal barrel rings.

Anyone with information specifically related to the Third Precinct fire or other business fires in the Twin Cities can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email ATFTips@atf.gov or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com. In addition to fires, the FBI is looking for people who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALLFBI (800-225-5342) or submit images or videos at FBI.gov/violence.