TPMMuckraker

Was CA Fire Another Attack Targeted At Local Police?

A screen shot from the Hemet Police website

The police department in Hemet, California, says that a fire today at an evidence storage building may be the seventh attempted attack in a six-month string of incidents targeting the local police.

According to the Hemet Press Enterprise, Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart said today that local firefighters were called to the building, located behind the police department, at 2:30 am. The extent of the damage is reportedly still being assessed.

The fire could be the seventh in a string of “booby trapping” incidents targeting the Hemet police, which are thought to be the work of local white supremacist groups. One of the incidents, as Justin Elliot reported, involved “a nine-pound vintage military rocket round” that “was found on the roof of a a downtown Hemet building — and it was apparently pointed at the nearby police headquarters.”

A series of raids in May led to the arrests of 23 people on suspected parole, weapons and narcotics violations, with one skinhead group member charged in connection with the attacks.

Top Stories From TPM

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid

Secret Service Looking Into Radio Host’s Graphic Violent Comments About Obama, Hillary Clinton

VA GOP's Attorney General Nominee Wanted Women To Report Miscarriages To Police Or Face Jail Time

GOP Nominee In Virginia Praised Three-Fifths Clause As An ‘Anti-Slavery Amendment’

The NRA Thinks These Are The ‘Coolest Gun Movies’ Ever

McCain, Collins Slam Republicans For Budget Hypocrisy

Disqus Conversations

Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Associate Editor

Nick Martin

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Sahil Kapur

Eric Lach

Hunter Walker

Frontpage Editor

Zoë Schlanger

News Writers

Tom Kludt

Video Editor

Michael Lester

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Bruce Ellerstein

Associate Publisher

Kyle Leighton

Assistant To The Publisher

Joe Ragazzo

Designer/Developer

Matthew Wozniak

Design Associate

Christopher O’Driscoll