Feds charge Pat Tillman's brother with arson after San Jose post office fire
Richard Tillman, 44, faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years, in addition to a $250,000 fine, if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. The charge stemmed from an incident in the early hours of July 20 at the Almaden Valley U.S. Post Office, where Tillman allegedly set fire to the building, partially destroying it.
Federal prosecutors said Tillman purchased 'instalogs' and lighter fluid and then drove to the post office at Crown Boulevard in San Jose. Tillman placed the instalogs throughout his car and poured lighter fluid in the car, prosecutors said, then he backed the car into the building's lobby and set it ablaze. He spray painted the words 'Viva La Me' on the outside of the building but was unable to finish the job due to the intense heat of the fire, prosecutors said.
Tillman told law enforcement officers that he sparked the fire to send a message to the U.S. government and that he used his phone to livestream the destruction on YouTube.
Tillman, who In 2015 wrote a children's book series focused on kindness and empathy, had documented his apparent unraveling on dozens of videos he posted to social media in recent months, according to a Chronicle report.
His most recent video, which has since been deleted, showed him sitting in a parked car talking about the 'spiritual realm,' ascension and making the planet evolve, while referring to himself in the third person and laughing in between bizarre statements. 'I'm not going to harm anyone physically, so there's nothing to worry about,' Tillman said. 'You guys will find out what I'm laughing about one day.'
Tillman is scheduled to appear in district court on Aug. 6.
Chronicle staff writer Anna Bauman contributed to this report
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