This past Sunday morning, fire crews responded to a structure fire at 8421 Wayzata Blvd. in Golden Valley, Minn. The office building has been shuttered and is uninhabitable. The businesses that were housed there suffered some level of damage. But the building was also home to three of the state’s largest and most active conservative organizations.
Alpha News reported that the non-profits Center of the American Experiment (CAE) and Take Charge had offices on the first floor, and the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) occupied space on the third floor. All of the offices were heavily damaged in the fire. The regional division of the ATF stated that an arson investigation is underway. According to Alpha News:
UMLC pursues “pro-freedom litigation safeguarding against government overreach, left-wing special interest agendas, constitutional violations, and public union corruption,” according to the organization’s website.
CAE is a Minnesota-based think tank that provides research on issues that affect Minnesota families such as the economy, education, and health care.
TakeCharge counters the narrative of systemic racism and educates communities on the dangers of DEI.
As with any office building, the three organizations were not the only tenants. But the chance of someone wanting to torch one of the other businesses is not great. In a statement on the CAE website, President John Hinderaker said:
The fires obviously were set by someone. They targeted conservative organizations, they didn’t firebomb the chiropractors or psychologists or the Manufacturers Alliance. We are cooperating with the FBI to try to identify the perpetrators. This firebombing will not slow us down — American Experiment’s work for freedom is not dependent on a bricks-and-mortar location. In fact, we launched a new campaign today opposing Gov. Walz’s new fuel standards that are more extreme, and more expensive, than even those of California, Oregon, and Washington. (sic)
CAE provided a video of the damage.
In a press release, Take Charge President Kendall Qualls labeled the incident domestic terrorism and said that it had been specifically targeted because it is a black conservative organization that opposes the concept of systemic racism. Qualls noted that if Take Charge was a leftist advocacy group, “throngs of media outlets would be at our door affirming that we are victims of racism.” Like Hinderaker, Qualls said that Take Charge will remain unintimidated and undeterred in its mission, adding that it plans to add chapters outside of Minnesota.
UMLC Senior Counsel James Dickey stated in part, “We will not be intimidated by this apparent act of domestic terrorism. Our resolve to uphold justice and protect the rights of Minnesotans remains unyielding. Despite the setback, the Upper Midwest Law Center will continue to champion the values of fairness, equality, and freedom for all.”
As a member of Gen X, I am too young to recall the chaos of the ’60s and the attacks by groups like the Weather Underground. This sort of thing is not new, but it is enjoying a resurgence. After all, illegal immigrants feel empowered enough to administer a beating to New York City police officers.
This week, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) told Newsmax that cartels are setting up shop on reservations because they are out of reach of local law enforcement. Of course, Ilhan Omar has essentially declared her allegiance to Somalia. And let us not forget the pro-lifers who are facing ten years in prison for staging a protest/rescue at an abortion clinic. Then again, they were also praying and singing, so a decade is probably a little lenient.
It isn’t that the left is pro-violence. It is definitely against violence as it defines it, but it also maintains that violence that advances an acceptable agenda isn’t violence at all. It’s activism. Hopefully, the people responsible for this act will be apprehended and jailed. Hopefully, but they are a symptom of a larger problem. That problem is the mindset that encourages someone to set a fire with a clear conscience.