Tacoma woman accused of setting 5 Seattle police cars on fire
TACOMA, Wash. -- Police arrested a Tacoma woman accused of setting five Seattle police cars on fire during riots last month in downtown Seattle.
According to the Department of Justice, Margaret Channon, 25, was taken into custody Thursday at her home in Tacoma. Channon is charged with five counts of arson.
The police cars were parked around 6th Ave. and Pine St. near Westlake Center when they were set ablaze on May 30, authorities said.
“This defendant was captured by multiple cameras using an accelerant, lit like a blowtorch, to start fires in five vehicles -- putting the public at risk and creating the very real possibility of a structure fire amidst the throng of people protesting downtown,” said U.S. Attorney Moran.
Prosecutors gave the following account:
"According to the criminal complaint, investigators from the FBI, ATF, and Seattle Police Department reviewed various videos taken of the Saturday arsons, as well as videos taken at a protest Friday evening. CHANNON appears in videos from both days, and tattoos that she has on her hands and arms are clearly visible. Some of the tattoos link CHANNON to a missing person report in Texas in 2019. Ultimately, investigators uncovered CHANNON’s various social media accounts which helped confirm her identity. Investigators determined she had listed addresses first in Seattle and later in Tacoma."
Police also got a search warrant for Channon's home and said they seized "clothing and accessories" that appear in some videos from the arsons.
Channon is scheduled to appear in a Seattle courtroom on Friday. Authorities said arson is punishable by up to ten years in prison.