Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban gets 7 years in prison

Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 7 Years for Attempted Arson at Congressman’s Office Over TikTok Legislation

A 20-year-old Wisconsin man was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for attempting to set fire to Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac last year. Caiden Stachowicz of Menasha will also serve seven years of extended supervision following his prison term, according to court records.

Stachowicz pleaded no contest to arson charges in November as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped additional burglary and property damage counts. While a no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt, it’s treated as such for sentencing purposes.

The incident occurred around 1 a.m. on January 19, 2025, when police responded to a fire outside Grothman’s office, located approximately 55 miles northwest of Milwaukee. According to the criminal complaint, officers found Stachowicz standing near the scene.

When questioned, Stachowicz admitted to starting the fire because of his opposition to Grothman. The complaint details how Stachowicz initially planned to break into the office and start a fire inside but, unable to break the window, instead poured gasoline on an electrical box behind the building and around the front before lighting it with a match.

Stachowicz told authorities his motivation stemmed from anger over federal legislation targeting TikTok. He claimed the government was “shutting down TikTok” in violation of his constitutional rights and that “peace was no longer an option.” The complaint notes that while Stachowicz targeted Grothman for supporting the legislation, he stated he didn’t intend to harm the congressman or anyone else.

The legislation in question was passed by Congress in April 2024 and required ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell its U.S. operations. The original compliance deadline coincided with the date of the arson attempt. However, President Donald Trump has since issued multiple executive orders extending the deadline. In recent developments, TikTok finalized an agreement two months ago to create an American version of the popular social video platform—a deal that received praise from Trump.

The attempted arson highlights the intense emotions surrounding digital platforms and national security concerns. The TikTok legislation emerged amid growing bipartisan concern about potential data security risks and the Chinese government’s influence over the widely used app, which has more than 170 million American users.

Danielle Gorsuch, one of Stachowicz’s attorneys, characterized the incident as “the culmination of a mental health crisis” for her client. She emphasized that no one was hurt in the incident.

“Caden took every caution to make sure no one was present in the building at the time of the incident, as he only wanted to hurt himself,” Gorsuch told The Associated Press following the sentencing. “He took responsibility from night one.”

Grothman’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the sentencing.

The case underscores growing tensions surrounding technology regulation and national security, as well as the potential for political disagreements to escalate into criminal actions. It also highlights ongoing concerns about mental health crises and their connection to politically motivated incidents.

The seven-year sentence reflects the seriousness with which authorities view politically motivated arson attempts against government officials’ offices, even when no one is physically injured in such attacks.