Three Booked in Dorm Room Arson, Victim Claims It Was Anti-Conservative Crime
Three suspects linked to setting a Tulane University student’s dorm room door on fire were booked into a Louisiana jail Saturday.
Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office general counsel Blake Arcuri said 21-year-old Robert Money and 20-year-olds David Shelton and Naima Okami faced aggravated arson counts, The Advocate reported Sunday.
The incident allegedly happened at Peyton Lofton’s door Saturday morning, according to The Advocate.
A sign that seemed to say “I AM NOLA BUILT” was slightly burned.
Lofton is a member of the conservative group Young Americans for Liberty.
THIS IS INSANITY!
Step 1. @YALiberty student Peyton Lofton DOXXED for being a YAL member
Step 2. His dorm room door is LIT ON FIRE?!
Dialogue and debate people… NOT VIOLENCE
Constitution-loving American college students should not fear for their safety@TulaneYAL @Tulane pic.twitter.com/xcTyg5MzVJ
— Cliff Maloney (@LibertyCliff) March 23, 2019
Lofton said it was politically motivated in a statement.
“It’s a sad day in America when radical activists are lighting dorm room doors on fire because they disagree with you politically,” Peyton said in a statement, posted by YALiberty on Twitter Saturday.
Official statement from @YALiberty @Tulane Chapter Officer Peyton Lofton regarding his dorm room door being lit on fire: pic.twitter.com/kAPjCc0PR2
— YALiberty (@YALiberty) March 23, 2019
University police said it was unclear why the perpetrators burned the door, WWL-TV reported. YAL officials said Lofton was recently doxxed by an “anti-YAL social media account.”
“If a socialist student is your neighbor, the answer is to engage and discuss the issues, not shame them online and light their door on fire,” YAL President Cliff Maloney said in a statement, also posted for the group’s Twitter account.
Official statement from @YALiberty President Cliff Maloney @LibertyCliff regarding the @TulaneYAL incident with YAL chapter officer Peyton Lofton having his door LIT ON FIRE.
Waiting on response from @Tulane University officials and police as they investigate. pic.twitter.com/RtXA5wWc3X
— YALiberty (@YALiberty) March 23, 2019
Lofton confirmed to The Daily Caller News Foundation over Facebook Messenger that there were no injuries.
The situation caught Donald Trump Jr.’s attention.
“Wonder if the media will report this horrible crime against a campus conservative?” Trump Jr. said on Twitter Saturday.
Wonder if the media will report this horrible crime against a campus conservative? https://t.co/0ER3O8NSD6
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 23, 2019
Money and Shelton are Tulane students while Okami is attending Brown University in Rhode Island, WWL-TV reported.
Bail is set at $10,000 each for the suspects, according to The Advocate.
YAL is a libertarian organization with several chapters across the country.
Tulane University and YAL did not immediately respond to TheDCNF’s request for comment.
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