infoBanned ex-volunteer arrested for Democratic Party office fire in Phoenix

Banned ex-volunteer arrested for Democratic Party office fire in Phoenix

A banned former Democratic volunteer was arrested for arson Wednesday in the fire that destroyed the party\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Maricopa County headquarters in Phoenix last week, authorities said.

The fire destroyed computers, tablets, phone-banking equipment, campaign literature and years of candidate and organizing information. It also burned political memorabilia accumulated over decades, including campaign materials for John F. Kennedy.

Matthew Silvanus Egler, 29, had been banned from volunteering at the Democratic office \u00e2\u0080\u009cdue to the nature of his previous behavior,\u00e2\u0080\u009d according to a joint press release from the Phoenix fire and police departments.

He claimed responsibility for the fire on social media and threatened more violence, according to the release.

Police in the charging documents also mention that Egler discussed starting the fire and his \u00e2\u0080\u009cdiscontentment\u00e2\u0080\u009d with county Democratic officials in a Twitter account.

A Twitter account with the handle \u00e2\u0080\u009cValley Leader\u00e2\u0080\u009d shows several videos of a man who matches a mugshot of Egler released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office talking about carrying out the fire. The man also claims to be married to Ivanka Trump.

Egler was booked on one count of arson of an occupied structure, a class 2 felony, in connection to the blaze set early Friday morning in central Phoenix.