USPS Mailbox Fire in Phoenix Damages 20 Ballots; Arson Suspect in Custody

Mail boxes at the front of a United States Postal Service facility in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 13, 2020. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced on Thursday that police have arrested a suspect in a mailbox fire that damaged 20 mail-in ballots.

“Thanks to swift action by @PhoenixPolice, @PHXFire, and federal partners, we have arrested the suspect involved in this incident,” Gallego posted on X.

The arrest marks the latest development in a fast-moving investigation involving a yet-to-be-named suspect allegedly lighting a fire inside a drive-up collection mailbox at a USPS station early Thursday morning.

The Phoenix Fire Department told media outlets that it responded to the scene at 1:20 a.m. on Oct. 24, after an arsonist set fire to the USPS mailbox that was located near a post office near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix.

Fire crews forced open the mailbox and extinguished the flames, which they said damaged 20 electoral ballots and other pieces of mail.

“The Postal Inspector took possession of the damaged ballots and mail,” Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade told several media outlets. “The Phoenix Fire Investigations Task Force, which includes Phoenix Police detectives and Phoenix Fire investigators, are working with U.S. Postal Inspectors.”

Before announcing the arrest of the arson suspect, the mayor of Phoenix said “there is zero tolerance for criminal activity in our community.”

“I am concerned about the recent incident at one of our post offices involving damage to several ballots,” Gallego said in a post on social media. “We are working collaboratively with every level of government to bring the perpetrator to justice.”

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes expressed a similar sentiment, saying that incidents like this undermine confidence in U.S. elections.

“I’m deeply troubled by the arson attack on a USPS collection box in Phoenix,” Fontes told ABC News in a statement. “This deliberate act of vandalism undermines the integrity of our democratic process.”

Stephen Richer, who oversees elections in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, said in a statement that his office is “waiting for details from law enforcement” on the incident.

Richer encouraged all voters who cast ballots using the affected mailbox within the last 36 hours to check the status of their ballots using the county’s voter dashboard.

The Epoch Times contacted the Phoenix Fire Department, Phoenix Police Department, and USPS with requests for comment and an update on the investigation.