A 25-year-old white woman has been arrested on 5 federal accounts of arson for allegedly setting 5 Seattle Police Department cars on fire during the George Floyd protests in Seattle.
25-year-old Margaret Aislinn Channon was arrested by the federal authorities wearing full SWAT gear from her house in Tacoma, Seattle after investigators said she was recorded setting fires in the vehicles by multiple cameras at the end of May this year.
Brian T. Moran, a US Attorney, said Channon had used a type of flammable spray to start the fires on 5 cars.
Attorney Moran said:
This defendant was captured by multiple cameras using an accelerant, lit like a blowtorch, to start fires in five vehicles — putting the public at risk and creating the very real possibility of a structure fire amidst the throng of people protesting downtown.
In her indictment, investigators recorded extensive details of the appearance arsonist.
The indictment said:
She was wearing a white and black striped scarf-type face covering, a black shirt, black pants, light-colored socks (that were mismatched), and black shoes.
They noted that throughout the attacks, the woman was wearing a black t-shirt on her head.
Owing to high-quality photographs taken by the Seattle Police Department at the scene, investigators managed to see a distinctive tattoo that was present on her left hand.
The indictment added:
She had the letters “W-A-I-F” tattooed on the fingers of her left hand… The letters were oriented such that the bottom of the letters faced towards her fingertips. Also visible on the suspect’s left hand was a heart tattoo on her middle finger between the “A” and the fingertip.
The tattoos of Channon were linked to a missing person from Texas since the year 2019.
They found her social media accounts and then her address.
Federal authorities raided the Tacoma home, where a neighbor said they heard explosions during the raid.
The indictment also said that 3 Seattle Police Department vehicles were targeted by the woman.
The vehicles are:
- Ford Transit Connect Van
- 2006 Dodge Caravan
- 2009 Chevrolet Express Van
The 3 vehicles were unmarked, however, they did have a police radio.
The 2 other vehicles were typical patrol cars.
4 of the vehicles were burned down to their metal frames, however, the vehicle is also totaled but damaged less.
Jonathan Blais, ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge, said:
While we stand by every American’s Constitutional right to protest, when someone turns to violence, we will work tirelessly to investigate their crimes. We are working shoulder-to-shoulder with our local, state and federal partners to bring those responsible for actions such as this to justice.
Felony arson carries a maximum 20-year sentence.