Philly Woman Charged With Arson For Burning Police Cars: Feds

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia woman is facing federal arson charges after authorities said she set fire to two police vehicles during unrest in the city following protests over George Floyd's death.

United States Attorney William M. McSwain said Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, 33, of Philadelphia, has been charged by criminal complaint for the arson of two Philadelphia Police Department vehicles.

If convicted, Blumenthal faces a maximum possible sentence of ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Blumenthal is in federal custody and had her initial appearance in federal court Tuesday. The government will be filing a motion for the defendant to be detained pending trial.

Following peaceful protests in the early afternoon of May 30, civil unrest began to unfold later that afternoon in Philadelphia that resulted in looting, burglary, arson, destruction of property, and other crimes.

On that day, a Philadelphia Police sedan and a Philadelphia Police sport utility vehicle, were parked on the north side of City Hall in Philadelphia.

Authorities accused of Blumenthal of setting fire to both vehicles during the afternoon unrest.

According to the complaint, various videos taken at the scene captured the defendant wearing protective goggles and gloves, taking a flaming piece of wooden police barricade from the rear window of the PPD sedan that was already on fire, and then shoving the flaming wood into the PPD SUV that was not on fire.

Within minutes, the SUV was also completely engulfed in flames. As result of the fires, both vehicles were destroyed.

According to WHYY, authorities tracked down Blumenthal through social media photos, an Etsy store she runs, and her LinkedIn profile.

"During the past several weeks, multitudes of people peacefully and lawfully exercised their First Amendment right to protest," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw. "However, there were individuals who chose to use the protests as an opportunity to engage in criminal activity. Some of these individuals’ actions were malicious, destructive, and could have resulted in critical injuries to others. We are privileged to have worked, and will continue to work, with our partners in law enforcement to investigate, identify and hold accountable the persons who committed these unlawful acts."