Woman arrested after video captures dumpster fire ignited at Texas AG Ken Paxton's office

A woman sas arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety after state officials say she tossed a cigarette that caused a dumpster fire outside Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton's office on May 24, 2023. A preliminary investigation found the crime appears to be unintentional, state prosecutors said.

A woman is in custody after state officials said she may have unintentionally set a dumpster on fire at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office’s this week.

The suspect, a 42-year-old woman, was arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety officials, Paxton’s office tweeted Thursday.

Paxton’s office said the woman was caught on video discarding what appeared to be a lit cigarette in a waste receptacle on Wednesday night.

“DPS questioned the suspect over possible political motivations for this crime and have preliminarily determined the fire was unintentional,” Paxton released in a statement online. “The employees who work in this building could have been injured or killed if this fire had not been detected early.”