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Officer Indicted for Setting Senate Fires

A grand jury indicted a Capitol Police officer on Wednesday for playing a role in setting the series of restroom fires that burned in Senate office buildings this fall.

Officer Karen Emory is accused of one misdemeanor count of “willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States,” the U.S. attorney’s office announced.

The indictment stems from an incident that took place on Nov. 2, in which toilet paper was set on fire in a women’s restroom in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the U.S. attorney.

Emory, 36, already has been suspended by the department. Her arraignment has not been set yet. She faces up to one year in jail.

No injuries were reported to have been caused by the fires, which burned in women’s restrooms in the Dirksen and Hart Senate Office Buildings during the fall. Only a few of the fires required evacuation, and all were quickly extinguished by Capitol Police or the District of Columbia Fire Department.

Capitol Police are expected to release more details on the indictment shortly.

— Elizabeth Brotherton

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