FBI Finds Accused Cop Car Arsonist By Tracing the T-Shirt She Was Wearing to Etsy

Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal is accused of setting 2 police cars on fire.

If convicted, she could fact up to 80 years in prison as well as a $500,000 fine.

The NY Post details exactly how the FBI was able to track her down using LinkedIn and Etsy:

This probe was entirely bespoke.

Federal investigators in Philadelphia used twee shopping site Etsy and a host of social media platforms, including Instagram and Vimeo, to nab a massage therapist accused of torching a cop car, according to a federal complaint.

The suspect, 33-year-old Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, was identified by FBI agents who examined footage of a May 30 George Floyd protest and noticed her distinct forearm tattoo and a political T-shirt she was wearing when she allegedly set the police cruiser ablaze.

The T-shirt — which had the phrase “Keep the Immigrants Deport the Racists” emblazoned on it — led investigators to an Etsy page that was selling the custom-made shirts.

The investigators noticed a review on the page written by a username they later determined was linked to someone named Lore-Elisabeth in Philadelphia, according to the complaint.

They then searched the name on LinkedIn, which turned up a hit for a woman employed as a massage therapist in the city. On the company’s website, videos show a woman giving massages with a peace-sign forearm tattoo that matched Blumenthal’s.

The website listed a phone number for Blumenthal, which federal authorities used to track down her address in the Germantown section of the city.

Local authorities are hoping to detain her until the trial.

Photos and videos from the scene show a woman, presumably Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, taking wood from a broken police barricade.

She then set the wood on fire then threw it into the police vehicles.

Her lawyer is questioning the way that the FBI has handled the case.

The Daily Mail has more details on the defense's strategy:

Paul Hetznecker, the woman's lawyer, expressed concern about prosecutors charging her in a federal court, instead of leaving local authorities to deal with the case.

'The techniques utilized by the FBI are gonna be scrutinized during the course of my pre-trial investigation of this case,' he said.    

Black Lives Matter protesters and other demonstrators had convened in the city to protest the killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor while decrying police brutality and racism in the United States on May 30 when the arson occured.

Photos and videos taken at the scene show a woman using a burning piece of wood from a police barricade and throwing it on the rear window of a PPD sedan that was already on fire.

The woman then takes the burning wood and then uses it on an PPD SUV that was not on fire.

'We at the U.S. Attorney's Office fully support the First Amendment right of the people to assemble peaceably and to petition their government. But torching a police car has nothing to do with peaceful protest or any legitimate message. It is a violent and despicable act that will be prosecuted in this District to the fullest extent of the law,' said U.S. Attorney McSwain in a press release.

'Anybody who engaged in such acts can stand by to put your hands behind your back and head to federal prison. We are coming for you.'  

Blumenthal faces up to eighty years in prison if convicted, followed by three years of supervised release. She faces a fine of up to $500,000.

The release notes that civil unrest followed the peaceful protest and resulted in 'widespread looting, burglary, arson, destruction of property, and other violent acts.'  

While peaceful protest is protected by the Constitution, destruction of property, especially city property, is not.

If anything, this case shows us the ingenuity and creativity of law enforcement to make sure that justice is served.