'I'm going to burn you': Man charged with setting fire to guardhouse at FBI Chicago office
The above video is from a previous report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man accused of setting fire to the FBI Chicago Field Office last week had made death threats at the same facility nearly one month earlier, federal authorities said.
James Lofton is facing federal arson charges, and was due to make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon
According to the charges, four weeks before setting the fire, Lofton had approached the guardhouse and told the officer on duty, "B****, I'm going to burn you, and everyone is going to die. You f***ing Mexicans are going to burn and die."
After speaking to federal agents and Chicago police at the scene, Lofton later requested medical attention, and an ambulance took him away.
He then returned this past Friday, shortly after 3 p.m., when he was caught on video approaching the station carrying a clear or whitish plastic jug containing an unknown liquid, according to the charges.
The officer in the guardhouse recognized Lofton from the previous incident, but while that officer was still inside the station, Lofton hung his jacket on the station's emergency all box near the security window, poured a clear liquid from the jug onto his jacket, and set it on fire.
As the guardhouse caught fire, Lofton walked away, headed east on Roosevelt Road. He was arrested shortly after 3:15 p.m., when FBI officers spotted him a couple blocks away from the FBI Chicago Field Office. When he was arrested, Lofton was still carrying a lighter.
Back in August, a man was arrested for jumping the iron fence at the FBI Chicago Field Office and began throwing rocks. That man was also taken into custody.