19-year-old who started fire to Congressman’s office pleads not guilty by reason of mental defect

The man who set fire to Congressman Glen Grohman’s office in Fond du Lac in January of this year because he disgruntled over a potential ban of the social media site Tik Tok has pleaded not guilty on all counts by reason of mental defect.

19-year-old Caiden Stachowicz appeared via video conference Monday, March 17, 2025 in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court. He will now undergo a psychiatric examination to determine his mental status.

On January 19th, police and fire responded to a fire on the outside of a building at 525 N. Peters Avenue.

Officers located Stachowicz at the scene and he admitted to starting the fire in response to talks of a Tik Tok ban. Stachowicz said that he believed the Tik Tok shutdown violated his constitutional rights, and he wanted to make a stand by burning a government building.