Long Lake man sentenced for arson of Dakota County government building

A Long Lake man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison on Thursday for the arson of a Dakota County government building.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 25-year-old Garrett Patrick Ziegler was sentenced to five years (60 months) in prison for aiding and abetting arson.

The attorney’s office said Ziegler drove himself and co-defendant Fornandous Cortez Henderson to the Dakota County Western Service Center in Apple Valley in the early morning hours of May 29. There, they broke multiple windows with baseball bats and then threw multiple Molotov cocktails through the broken windows. Authorities said some of the devices successfully ignited and caused damage to the building.

Savage man pleads guilty to arson of Dakota County government building

Court documents and Ziegler’s guilty plea also state that he and Henderson attempted to start other fires by pouring ignitable liquids and throwing Molotov cocktails in and around the broken windows.

Henderson said he targeted the WSC because he had previous court appearances there and was angry with law enforcement after George Floyd’s death.

In addition to his prison time, Ziegler was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay more than $205,000 in restitution.