A 20-year-old tribe member set the fires last month that destroyed the headquarters of the Bois Forte tribal government in northern Minnesota and a nearby vehicle, and he was "giddy, jumping up and down, bragging" that same day about what he had done, according to federal charges.
Member of Bois Forte tribe charged with starting HQ fire
A Nett Lake man was charged in a tribal headquarters fire.
William L. Isham, a Bois Forte member from Nett Lake, Minn., was charged Thursday with arson for setting the blazes about 3 a.m. on July 20. He was arrested Friday at a house in Duluth where he had been staying.
No one was hurt in the fires.
According to the criminal complaint:
Isham and others were sitting around a bonfire on July 20 and drinking, when Isham said, "Let's make something for the memory book and burn down the [tribal headquarters]."
After the blazes began, Isham told one of the men at the bonfire and others that he set the building and vehicle on fire using gasoline.
Isham "was giddy, jumping up and down bragging about setting the fire[s]," said a woman who was at the bonfire. She said Isham also admitted setting a garage fire in Nett Lake a couple of years ago.
In a telephone call monitored by federal authorities, Isham admitted that setting the fire was a "dumb move."
PAUL WALSH
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