Crime

North Dakota mayor faces charge for not reporting fire

/ CBS/AP

LEITH, N.D. - Authorities in southwestern North Dakota are accusing the mayor of Leith of not reporting a fire last year.

Mayor Ryan Schock is facing a charge of failure to control or report a dangerous fire.

CBS affiliate KCMB-TV reports that a criminal complaint filed in Grant County states that in May Schock started a fire in Leith - a town of about 20 people - and did not contact a fire department or other government agency to help with the "out-of-control" blaze. The complaint shows the fire was eventually controlled.

The mayor is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 17.

Schock recently traveled to Utah to the Sundance Film Festival to attend the screening of the documentary "Welcome to Leith," which chronicles the saga of the tiny town that's been at odds with white supremacists.

In 2013, two white supremacists were charged with terrorizing after they carried guns in the town with the hope of turning it into a white enclave.

© 2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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