Caiden Stachowicz (Photo courtesy Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office)
FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Caiden Stachowicz pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect Monday to charges he set U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s office on fire.
Stachowicz, 19, faces three counts, including arson, attempted burglary and criminal damage to property for the Jan. 19 fire at 525 N. Peters Ave.
Because of the so-called insanity plea, Judge Tricia Walker ordered a psychiatric evaluation. No trial date was set. A status conference will be held May 12, court records show.
If the case goes to trial with the not guilty by reason of mental disease plea, the jury would first determine if Stachowicz is guilty. If so, a second phase of the trial would determine if he suffered from a mental disease. If so, he would committed to a secure psychiatric facility. If the jury rejects the insanity plea, Stachowicz could be sentenced to prison.
According to the criminal complaint, the teen admitted to attempting to break into the congressional office in order to set the fire. When that didn’t work, he wanted to pour gasoline outside the building from the back to the front. According to the complaint, strong winds and fear of injuring himself led Stachowicz to simply light an electrical box in the back of the building on fire.
Prosecutors say Stachowicz was upset over Grothman’s vote in favor of the short-lived ban on TikTok.
Stachowicz was arrested shortly after crews extinguished the fire at the office, located at a strip mall. No one was injured during the fire, but Grothman’s office sustained damage.
Prosecutors originally also charged him with making terrorist threats, but because there was no threat made before the acts, a judge dismissed that count.
Grothman is a Republican who represents Wisconsin’s 6th congressional district. He was first elected to his seat in 2014.
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