MADISON, Wis. — Madison Police and Fire Department are investigating a fire at an office building on the city’s north side that they said was arson.
Crews were called to the 2800 block of International Lane on Sunday just after 6 am and flames could be seen coming from the facility.
Crews from the Madison Fire Department were able to put out the flames and no injuries were reported.
Officers and arson investigators have not determined the cause of the fire, but police confirmed that a Molotov cocktail, which did not ignite, was thrown into the office during the incident. A separate fire also started.
Police confirmed that the Wisconsin Family Action office was damaged in the incident. The group is a PAC that lobbies against abortion rights and gay marriage.
Speaking to News 3 Now, WFA President Julaine Appling said someone had thrown Molotov cocktails at her office and burned books. Appling said she didn’t know the person who started the fire, but she said the suspect “left his signature” in graffiti.
“We do get veiled and not-so-veiled threats from time to time,” Appling said. “We’ve never had anything materialize like this.”
Appling said she respects people’s right to disagree with her and her organization, but that this incident is taking things too far.
“We can all disagree,” he said. “People disagree with me all the time. I’m not going to threaten them.”
Appling said most of the WFA staff members would be working remotely on Monday, though he will have to return to help deal with the insurance company.
The WFA will consider making security-related adjustments in the future, Appling said, but he didn’t know what those adjustments would be. At this time, the building now has security cameras. She said that she was not told to stay away from the office, but she felt uncomfortable putting staff members in a difficult situation.
“I’m not going to ask my team to be here,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a terribly safe environment right now.”
Officials with the Madison Fire Department said in a statement that investigators believe the fire was set intentionally and that the incident was being investigated as an arson attack.
On Sunday, the Madison Police Department released a statement regarding its investigation.
The Madison Police Department understands that members of our community are feeling deep emotions due to recent news involving the United States Supreme Court.
Early Sunday morning, our team began investigating a suspicious fire inside an office building on the north side of town.
It appears that a specific non-profit organization that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted.
Our department has supported and continues to support people to speak freely and openly about their beliefs.
But we believe that any act of violence, including the destruction of property, does not help any cause.
We have made our federal partners aware of this incident and are working with them and the Madison Fire Department as we investigate this arson.
We will provide an update on this case on Monday at 2 pm Specific details on the logistics of this update will be forthcoming at a later date.
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