Free Republic

Two baby-faced Westchester arsonists who admitted to torching a beloved Hudson River lighthouse will get to avoid jail time thanks to a plea deal that allows them to buy their freedom. Elvin Ayavaca, 19, and Richard Joseph Barrero, 20, both pleaded guilty on Monday in exchange for a sweetheart deal that allows the arsonists to dodge any time in prison — as long as they cough up nearly $81,000 each and stay out of trouble for the rest of the year, according to the Westchester DA’s office. If the pair, who caused roughly $100,000 in damage to Westchester’s historic Tarrytown...

A 37-year-old Spokane, Washington, resident with a previous manslaughter conviction was arrested Monday in connection with largest of the region’s three wildfires, which have displaced thousands and destroyed hundreds of structures, authorities said. Aaron Farinacci, 37, was taken into custody without incident with the help of a SWAT team after a judge signed a warrant based on an allegation of first-degree arson, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at an evening news conference. Farinacci was being held on $1 million bond, he said. It was unclear if he has been formally charged or has a lawyer, and the public defender’s...

The Brief:A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of intentionally starting the Old Trails Fire in Spokane County. Investigators say the wildfire has burned more than 3,600 acres and destroyed hundreds of structures, though the suspect is not believed to be linked to two other major fires. Authorities have not identified a motive, and all three major Spokane County wildfires remain 0% contained. SPOKANE, Wash. - A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three wildfires in Spokane County that have destroyed hundreds of homes. The suspect is...

The French government has revealed that an estimated ninety per cent of so-called wildfires are the result of human activity, undermining the persistent media narrative that climate change is driving spontaneous fires ravaging the countryside. On Tuesday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that 184 people have been arrested in connection with wildfires since the beginning of the summer. Those arrested are a combination of arsonists, criminals, and careless individuals, he said. According to the French Forest Observatory, around one in three (30 per cent) of wildfires are believed to have been set maliciously, Le Figaro reported. In total, the...

Just over four years ago, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited a small town in the south-western region of Extremadura that had been affected by one of the wildfires devouring tens of thousands of hectares of land across the country. That summer’s blazes had left two people dead in the northern region of Castilla y León and another man there fatally burned after the excavator he was using to try to dig a firebreak to protect his town was swallowed up by the flames. A street-sweeper in Madrid had collapsed and died from heatstroke while on shift in soaring temperatures...

As wildfires blazed in southern Italy this week, authorities probing for arson found a grisly clue: cats “with flammable-soaked rags tied to their tails.” “These animals were released into the fields, running around and spreading the fire,” said Domenico Costarella of Calabria’s Civil Protection Agency in a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday. He added that other pieces of evidence also pointed to arson, including candles lit among flammable rags and delayed ignition devices. Firefighters are still working to contain blazes around Calabria’s Pollino National Park, according to Italian broadcaster RAI, which reported Wednesday that firefighting teams have completed more...

A farmer has described feeling "absolutely gutted" following a blaze on land. Steven Conisbee, who runs Barracks Farm in Fetcham, said he awoke on Friday at 22:00 to some loud bangs and then immediately after his son called to say the farm was on fire. "I leapt out of bed, threw some clothes on, jumped in my pickup truck and headed down," he told the BBC. "I thought the barn was on fire, but the sky was lit up orange." Conisbee, a ninth-generation farmer, continued that he discovered his "best wheat field" was ablaze. "The wind was blowing," he told...

A historic church in Buffalo, New York, caught fire again this week, and it was determined to be the result of arson. St. Ann’s Catholic Church was built in 1886. It permanently closed down in August 2024 and was sold to an Islamic community for $250,000.

Faint interest in film glorifying activists bent on violence, destructionJames Cameron caught little heat for a shocking admission. He hearts eco-terrorism. It’s one thing for the “Avatar” director to be so green he makes his cast and crew eat vegan. That seems quaint compared to a quote that got ignored by most press outlets. Now, we have an entire film dedicated to eco-activists willing to employ violence to suit their needs. And it’s clear where the story’s empathy lies. “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” deserves some sort of Truth in Advertising award. The story follows a gang of eco-thugs...

Most wildfires in Canada are impossible to fight. As smoke from forest fires in Canada have darkened skies south of the border, lawmakers in Michigan, Ohio and other U.S. states have accused the Canadian authorities of inaction and poor forest management. But most wildfires in Canada spread in such remote, vast areas that they cannot be fought effectively — and are often left to burn. Half of Canada’s wildfires, like the ones now burning in northern Ontario, burn in such areas — either unpopulated or dotted with small Indigenous communities, said Michael Flannigan, an expert on fire management at Thompson...

Arson attacks, vandalism and other acts of sabotage are increasingly disrupting Germany's rail network, with investigators linking several incidents to far-left extremists. Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s state-owned railway operator, appears to be facing a growing sabotage problem. According to a leaked internal report, the company recorded around 2,200 cases of sabotage targeting railway infrastructure during the first six months of 2026, a 7% increase compared with the same period last year. The incidents include arson, vandalism, and theft that causes significant damage to railway infrastructure and disrupts train services, costing taxpayers increasing amounts to repair each year. The latest incident occurred...

A fire in southwest Berlin that has left tens of thousands in the German capital without electricity was likely the result of a far-left extremist attack, officials said on Sunday. Grid company Stromnetz Berlin said on Saturday that the suspected arson attack could leave up to 45,000 households without power until January 8. Following the attack, local media published a letter purportedly from a far-left activist organisation called the Volcano Group that claimed responsibility for the incident, saying its actions were directed at the fossil-fuel based energy industry. "The letter claiming responsibility has been classified as authentic by the security...

The blaze, which broke out around 6 p.m. on July 7, quickly engulfed the historic structure, causing the roof to collapse. ALERT: Pittsburgh Fire is battling a 3-alarm fire in a vacant church on Grandview Ave. & Kearsarge on Mount Washington. There are no reports of injuries at this time. Please watch this space for updates. A PIO is on scene. pic.twitter.com/actU6tJjMC — Pittsburgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) July 7, 2026 Allegheny County dispatchers received a call about the fire at approximately 6:05 p.m. Firefighters arrived within four minutes and upgraded the response to a three-alarm fire, according to a WPXI...

Police from the 102nd Precinct took a man into custody Thursday morning after he allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at religious buildings in Ozone Park and Woodhaven. In the first incident, the 36-year-old vandal allegedly targeted the Iglesia Bautista El Mesias Baptist Church, located at 97-44 75th St. in Ozone Park, just before midnight on July 8, according to authorities. The vandal threw one of the firebombs at the front door, but it bounced off and exploded on the ground, causing a fire that did no damage to the church, police said. The suspect then walked about a half-mile north into...

  Diary of Tube bomb plotter  Ultimate horror ... graphic shows how Barot, inset left, would have collapsed tunnel on train as it went under Thames, inset right, drowning everyone     By SIMON HUGHES and NEIL SYSONNovember 07, 2006CRAZED Dhiren Barot planned to kill thousands of innocent people in Britain and America — with his Thames Tube horror the centrepiece of his plot.The attack formed part of an horrific blitz on the UK that included the Heathrow Express rail link and possibly top London hotels, a court heard yesterday.In a chilling document, the Al-Qaeda commander GLOATED about the prospect...

Two juveniles have been arrested after investigators accused them of sparking a devastating six-alarm blaze that tore through an empty Pennsylvania factory before leaping across the street and destroying houses, leaving dozens of people homeless. The two youths, whose names have not been released due to their young ages, are being held on charges including arson, conspiracy, recklessly endangering another person and causing a catastrophe. The arrests came two days after the massive inferno erupted in Allentown, sending towering flames and thick black smoke into the night sky as more than 100 firefighters battled to stop the blaze from swallowing...

A 21-year-old leftist college student is in custody after admitting to burning a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park, saying it was a protest against the Trump administration — an act that sparked outrage from Democrats who initially called it the “seeds of racism and fascism.” The incident first flared up on June 9. A disturbing video showed a wooden cross burning at Grant Park in Chicago. Firefighters extinguished the flames and police released photos of a “person of interest” fleeing the scene, per ABC 7. With no suspect in custody, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential presidential contender, rushed...

FORT WORTH, Texas — A teenager arrested in connection with a string of south Fort Worth car arsons has been linked to a viral social media video developed overseas by an extremist hate group, police said Tuesday. The Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) said, on Jan. 6, it became aware of a concerning video shared across multiple social media platforms, which depicted an individual wearing a hockey mask delivering explicit threats of mass violence, stating intentions to kill indiscriminately, and expressing a lack of regard for human life. Fort Worth police, in coordination with the Fort Worth Arson Unit, determined...

A "suspicious" fire broke out at the Pacific Palisades office of Spencer Pratt's crystals company, he revealed to The California Post. The Los Angeles mayoral candidate confirmed that the office, located inside the Highlands Circle complex at 1515 Palisades Dr., belonged to him. The Los Angeles Fire Department's Arson Unit was notified, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. "I want to be careful to not compromise an arson investigation, but this incident is very suspicious," Pratt told The Post, just hours after his bombshell post-election video dropped. "I will wait for the investigators to make public the...

As an Oregon man is set to be arraigned on domestic terrorism charges, KATU has learned more about the alleged motive behind the fires. Ethan Noble Burlingame emailed a "declaration of war" against the U.S. and expressed an intent to "cause suffering, destruction and terror" and "burn down the empire," according to prosecutors. According to the arrest warrant filed by Wheeler County District Attorney Gretchen Ladd, Burlingame emailed his intent to a Florida resident under the username Rottenheart in the early morning hours of June 1. Later that morning, a fire destroyed an unoccupied building in Fossil, near Burlingame's home...