Fire at New Mexico GOP headquarters under investigation as arson
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A fire that damaged the entryway to the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque is being investigated as arson, a fire official said Monday.
No suspect has been named in the Sunday morning blaze that's under investigation by local authorities, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Incendiary materials were found on the scene, according to an ATF spokesperson. Spray paint on the side of the building read 'ICE=KKK,' said Lt. Jason Fejer with Albuquerque Fire Rescue. Fejer said federal officials were taking over the arson investigation.
Republican leaders described the fire as a deliberate attack. The building had extensive smoke damage, which Republican party spokesperson Ash Soular said left the offices uninhabitable.
Surveillance video from the inside the building captured images of the fire, Soular said. She declined Monday morning to give further details and said law enforcement asked the party not to release the video or discuss its contents in detail.
State Republican leaders planned a news conference Monday afternoon to address the fire and other damage.
The weekend fire followed vandalism across the U.S. in recent weeks targeting dealerships for Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, who is leading Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to slash the federal workforce. Trump has also sought to ramp up deportation efforts against people living in the country illegally, led by agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said in response to the GOP headquarters fire that 'politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable.'
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