ATLANTA — A man was arrested by federal law enforcement agents Tuesday morning and charged with deliberately setting a fire outside of Atlanta’s Federal Reserve building in Midtown.
A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta confirmed the incident and said no injuries were reported and that the building suffered only minor smoke damage.
The man, who was not identified, was taken into custody by Atlanta police, Channel 2 Action News reported. Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Atlanta Fire Rescue were on the scene.
The man was filmed by security cameras as he walked up to a door of the Federal Reserve building around 9 a.m. with two gas cans and set them down, Channel 2 reported. That entrance to the building was locked at the time and still remains closed.
A video shared on Instagram and reposted by ATL Scoop shows a man standing outside of the white building beside a small fire on the sidewalk. He can be seen setting down the two gas cans close to the flames before the video cuts off.
Photos from outside the stately marble building show an abandoned gasoline container and K-9 units assisting with the investigation.
Atlanta fire officials have not responded to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Atlanta police said they would release additional details later in the day.
“We are thankful for the quick response of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and Atlanta Police Department, as well as from our Atlanta Fed law enforcement and facilities teams. We are assisting in their investigation,” an Atlanta Fed spokesperson said.
