Warehouse Arsonist Caused $650M In Damage, 'Attacked America's Capitalist Values,' US Attorney Says

ONTARIO, CA —The suspected arsonist in Tuesday's devastating Ontario Kimberly-Clark warehouse fire faces life in prison amid mounting county and federal charges, authorities announced at a Friday morning press conference.

Chamel Abdulkarim, 29, of Highland, is being charged with aggravated arson, a special allegation of causing more than $10 million in damages, and six counts of arson - one for every pallet he set on fire, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office.

He additionally faces federal charges in connection with the arson of a building used in interstate and foreign commerce and used in activities affecting interstate and foreign commerce. The federal complaint was filed late Thursday.

According to the prosecutors, Abdulkarim could potentially be charged with a hate crime. He has prior convictions and was on probation at the time of the fire, according to the complaint filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office.

Prosecutors said the most damning evidence came from Abdulkarim, who both recorded himself setting fires and posted it to social media, and made numerous calls and texts to others regarding his plans.

At the Friday news conference, United States Attorney General for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, discussed the mounting evidence.

"The defendant repeatedly boasted of his crimes. He posted Instagram videos showing himself lighting the merchandise on fire in the warehouse," Essayli said. "On video with a wide shot, he had several burning spots that were visible in the warehouse, and you could hear his voice repeating several times, ‘All you had to do was pay us enough to live.' The final video posted on Instagram showed the fire spreading throughout the warehouse and the defendant saying, ‘There goes your inventory.'"

The arson was an attack on America's capitalist values, added Essayli.

"America is founded on capitalism," Essayli said. "Anyone who attacks our values, our way of life, our system, which provides goods and services to the most people, we're going to come after aggressively."

The fires Abdulkarim set quickly consumed the $150 million building, resulting in its destruction and total loss of more than $500 million in inventory, including Kleenex and Huggies that are shipped across the country, prosecutors allege.

Abdulkarim was arrested on Tuesday by the Ontario Police Department and remains in local custody in San Bernardino County. He is currently being held without bail and is headed to San Bernardino County Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga to answer multiple charges, according to the San Bernardino County DA spokesperson Jacquelyn Rodriguez. Charges include aggravated arson, and with the destruction of over $10.1 million in property, he faces 10 years to life in prison, according to San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson.

In addition to the videos Abdulkarim posted on social media, he made statements to others on the telephone and via text messages boasting about the arson, according to investigators.

“I just cost these [expletive] billions,” Abdulkarim bragged to a friend, according to federal prosecutors. “1% is a [expletive] joke...All you had to do was pay us enough to live. Pay us more of the value WE bring. Not corporate. Didn’t see the shareholders picking up a shift.”

Abdulkarim compared himself to Luigi Mangioni, the accused murderer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, said Essayli.

“A lot of people are going to understand,” Abdulkarim told FBI investigators, according to the federal complaint.

"There is an extremely disturbing trend where people are resorting to violence to communicate political messages or economic messages," said Essayli. "I don't know if this guy saw himself as a Luigi, but he's an arsonist. He's a criminal."

The affidavit filed with the federal criminal complaint, and released Friday, outlines how Abdulkarim filmed himself setting fire to multiple pallets of paper goods inside the large distribution center in Ontario on Tuesday morning.

As he lit the fires, he stated, “If you’re not going to pay us enough to [expletive] live or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this [expletive].”

The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ontario Police Department, and the Ontario Fire Department are investigating this matter.

If convicted of federal crimes, as well as his current county charges, Abdulkarim would face an additional mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.