A 34-year-old Oakland man was in custody on Tuesday in connection with four arson attacks at UC Berkeley in June, including the firebombing of a university police car, jail records showed and authorities said.
The man was arrested on Monday on seven felony charges including criminal conspiracy, possession of a destructive device and arson, records show. He was being held at Alameda County’s Santa Rita jail in Dublin on bail of $1 million, records showed on Tuesday.
Numerous law enforcement agencies investigated the attacks, including the Office of State Fire Marshal, the UC Berkeley Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI. Monday’s arrest was made by the arson and bomb unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), the agency said.
An online posting claimed that the arson attacks were made to show support for pro-Palestinian protesters, and threatened more if the university system does not divest from its investments in companies doing business with Israel. However, authorities did not say whether they believed that claim was credible.
Authorities did not report injuries in connection with the attacks.
