SEATTLE (AP) - A man who set fire to a crowded Seattle nightclub just after midnight on New Year’s Eve has pleaded guilty to a federal arson charge.
U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan says 30-year-old Musab Mohammed Masmari put more than 700 people at risk when he poured gasoline in a stairwell at Neighbors, a gay nightclub, and lit it.
Masmari, formerly of Bellevue, was identified through surveillance video and was arrested a month after the arson as he prepared to leave the country.
People were interested in these podcasts
He was originally charged in state court, but federal prosecutors took the case because he faces a minimum of five years - more than double what he faced under state law.
Federal prosecutors haven’t discussed a potential motive for the arson, but Masmari drew police attention several times over the past year for erratic behavior, including assaults and refusing to stop painting a railing at his apartment building.
He is due to be sentenced in July.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.