The sentencing followed Stachowicz’s no contest plea to arson in November, after prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts. The case placed online platform regulation at the center of a politically motivated criminal act on the same day the federal divestiture deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent company had originally been set.
MADISON, Wis. — A 20-year-old Wisconsin man was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for setting fire to Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s district office in Fond du Lac, after telling police he acted because the federal government was shutting down TikTok in violation of his constitutional rights, according to court records.
Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker also sentenced Caiden Stachowicz, of Menasha, to seven years of extended supervision, court records show.
The sentencing followed Stachowicz’s no contest plea to an arson charge in November. Prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts in exchange for the plea. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as one for purposes of sentencing.
Fire set on deadline day
A police officer responded to a fire outside Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac, about 55 miles northwest of Milwaukee, at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2025 — the same day the federal deadline had been set for TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations, according to a criminal complaint.
The officer found Stachowicz standing near the building. Stachowicz told the officer he started the fire because he doesn’t like Grothman, the complaint states. He initially planned to break into the office and set the fire inside, but could not break a window. He then poured gasoline on an electrical box behind the building and around the front, lit a match and watched it burn, according to the complaint.
He told police he wanted to burn down the office because the federal government was shutting down TikTok in violation of his constitutional rights and peace was no longer an option, the complaint states. He added that Grothman voted for the TikTok shutdown but said he did not want to hurt Grothman or anyone else.
Defense: a mental health crisis
Defense attorney Danielle Gorsuch told The Associated Press after the sentencing that the incident was the culmination of a mental health crisis for her client and stressed that no one was hurt.
“Caden took every caution to make sure no one was present in the building at the time of the incident, as he only wanted to hurt himself,” Gorsuch said. “He took responsibility from night one.”
TikTok legislation and resolution
Grothman voted for a bill in April 2024 that required ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations. President Donald Trump subsequently issued multiple executive orders extending the divestiture deadline. TikTok finalized a deal approximately two months before the sentencing to create an American version of the platform. Trump praised the deal.
A spokesperson for Grothman’s congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.