Minnesota man arrested in Grand Forks Somali restaurant fire

Juba Coffee House and Restaurant
Juba Coffee House and Restaurant, a popular Somali restaurant in Grand Forks, N.D., caught fire last week, leaving the building badly damaged.
Courtesy of Sarah Volpenhein | Grand Forks Herald

Authorities in northern Minnesota have arrested the 25-year-old man accused of setting fire to a Somali restaurant in Grand Forks, N.D.

Matthew Gust was charged with arson in connection with a fire last week at the Juba Coffee House and Restaurant. Surveillance video showed someone breaking a window in the restaurant and tossing something inside. Authorities believe someone threw a molotov cocktail, made with a 40-oz. beer bottle, into the restaurant.

North Dakota authorities issued an arrest warrant for Gust, believed to be of East Grand Forks, Minn., on Friday.

Grand Forks police say he was arrested by authorities about 1 a.m. Tuesday morning in Polk County, which is across the Red River from Grand Forks. He is being held in Minnesota, and Grand Forks authorities expect him to be extradited to North Dakota.

The FBI has joined the investigation into the fire. It came just days after someone spray painted was believed to be a reference to Nazism and the words "go home" on the restaurant.

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