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VOL. 35 | NO. 52 | Friday, December 30, 2011
Nashville Area
Tent set on fire at Nashville protest, no injuries
NASHVILLE (AP) - Police arrested a man for setting fire to a tent belonging to one of the protesters at the Occupy Nashville encampment near the state Capitol.
According to the arrest warrant, 33-year-old Justin Baker Otto was arrested Thursday night after he doused a protester's tent with a flammable liquid and set it on fire. The warrant said witnesses told police that Otto was upset because he believed the protester had stolen his wallet.
After the fire, people who were taking part in the protest caught the suspect and held him until police arrived, according to WTVF-TV.
Several articles of clothing inside the tent were destroyed, but no one was injured.
It wasn't clear whether the suspect was also a protester, but Nashville police already had a warrant out for his arrest for harassing an ex-girlfriend. Otto was charged with felony arson and was released from jail on bond. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney.