Investigators found a social media post allegedly shared by George the morning of the incident, which showed an AI-generated image of the White House in flames.
An Idaho woman has been taken into custody and charged in connection with an alleged attempt to burn down a Department of Homeland Security facility after crashing an ambulance into the structure, police have said.
Sarah Elizabeth George, 43, of Boise, is accused of stealing an ambulance parked outside St. Luke’s Meridian late on Feb. 18 and then running it into a DHS building. According to a federal criminal complaint, George allegedly drove the emergency vehicle into the entrance of the Portico North building around 11 pm, spread gasoline throughout the lobby in an attempt to set it on fire, and then fled the area on foot.
Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said investigators were able to identify George after five days of what he called “good old-fashioned police work,” which involved reviewing security footage, canvassing nearby businesses, and tracing vehicle information, per Fox News.
Federal prosecutors charged George with malicious destruction of government property by fire and damaging property involved in interstate commerce, according to court filings.
Investigators also found a social media post allegedly shared by George the morning of the incident, which showed an AI-generated image of the White House in flames alongside the caption, “If it can be destroyed by truth then it should be destroyed; it was built in lies anyways.”
Other social media posts from George show that she is engaged with LGBTQ activism.
Authorities said George took the ambulance while paramedics were inside a hospital transferring a patient. Surveillance video reportedly captured a dark pickup truck parking near Primary Health roughly 22 minutes before the theft, and a person resembling George walking toward the medical facility shortly before the vehicle was stolen.
Police said George crashed the ambulance through the south doors of the DHS building at around 11:10 pm, then poured gasoline inside before fleeing as officers responded to the scene.
“The suspect took that ambulance and drove it into the Portico North building, where they had also staged gasoline and poured gasoline inside of the ambulance as well as on the floor, outside of the ambulance, in what we believe was an attempt to burn the building,” Basterrechea said.