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SALT LAKE CITY — A man was arrested for suspected arson after troopers say he lit a Molotov cocktail on the south steps of the state Capitol Wednesday evening.
About 9:36 p.m., the man lit "some type of Molotov cocktail near the doors of the Capitol," said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden, then "stayed there while the liquid in the bottle burned."
A passerby noticed the fire on the steps and called 911, but by the time firefighters arrived, the liquid had "pretty well burned itself out," Roden said. The small fire did minor cosmetic damage to the steps, but nothing else was burned and no one was injured, he said.
The man — who remained on scene after the fire burned out — was later taken into custody by state troopers, although his motives remain unclear.
"Ultimately, we ... have no evidence of anything directly tied to what he was targeting," Roden said.
