Arrest made in break-in at Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips' campaign office

September 29, 2020 at 12:47AM
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., speaks during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing looking into the firing of State Department Inspector General Steven Linick, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)
Rep. Dean Phillips, pictured at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, has condemned the break-in at his campaign office. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A Rogers man has been arrested in connection with an August break-in at U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips' campaign office.

Justin Evans, 44, faces felony burglary charges following the Aug. 29 incident, the Minnetonka Police Department confirmed.

According to an arrest warrant, security footage showed Evans park outside the Democratic congressman's Wayzata office, gain entry through a shattered glass door and leave with a 55-inch Vizio TV and an Apple iMac computer.

That same footage captured a partial license plate on the Black Dodge Charger that Evans allegedly drove to the site. Authorities were able to trace the car, a rental, to Evans and his wife. He admitted to the burglary while in custody, according to the arrest warrant.

Phillips, a freshman Democrat running for re-election in the western suburbs, had previously condemned the actions.

"To the thieves stealing campaign signs from my supporters' lawns across the district and the criminals who broke into our Minnetonka campaign office overnight, the irony isn't lost on me," he tweeted at the time. "Your disregard for law and stoking of fear and disorder, only increases my resolve."

Torey Van Oot • 651-925-5049

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about the writer

Torey Van Oot

Politics and Government

Torey Van Oot reports on Minnesota politics and government for the Star Tribune.

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