MIFFLINTOWN, Pa. — Mifflin County Regional Police have charged two Juniata County teens with setting a fire that consumed the "Biden Barn," an empty structure painted with a campaign ad for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and a message calling for unity over division, on March 6.
Michael Kauffman, 19, of Mifflintown, is charged with arson, possession of explosive/incendiary material, two counts of criminal mischief, recklessly and endangering another person in the destruction of the Reedsville, Mifflin County landmark, police say.
The other suspect is a 15-year-old boy that police did not identify due to his age.
The 15-year-old suspect is a volunteer firefighter with the Yeagertown Fire Company, according to the complaint. He, Kauffman, and two other juveniles were driving around in the 15-year-old suspect's pickup truck on the night of March 6.
The 15-year-old suspect was looking to start a fire because "he wanted to get on a fire call," police said in the complaint.
Once the fire was reported, the 15-year-old responded to help fight the fire in his pickup truck while the other passengers were inside, police say.
Kauffman and the 15-year-old were identified as suspects by police after speaking to other persons of interest in the case.
Police say the teens made two attempts to start a fire in the barn on the night of March 6. In the first attempt, police say, they tried to use camping fuel and flares to set a fire, but the fuel did not ignite.
They then drove to the 15-year-old's home, where he retrieved a gas canister. They filled the canister with diesel fuel purchased at a nearby Sheetz store before returning to the barn, according to police.
Kauffman and the 15-year-old then went back inside the barn and set a second fire, which ignited and eventually consumed the structure, police say.
Police say they recorded a phone call between one of the witnesses and Kauffman after the fire, in which Kauffman allegedly admitted his involvement with setting the fire and discussed plans to destroy the canister used to store the diesel fuel he purchased should the fire be ruled an arson case.
Kauffman allegedly told the caller he set the barn on fire "because it was the Biden barn," according to police.
Police say they were familiar with the "Biden Barn" because of previous issues at the property over the last few months. The barn's owners live on a home near the barn, police say.
The fire destroyed the structure, which was more than 100 years old, according to police.
