Campus Alert Archive
Tulane

A Political Sign Taped to a Tulane Dorm Door Was Burned, Then Three Arrests Followed on Aggravated Arson Charges

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Confirmed Threat

Early Saturday morning, March 23, 2019, someone set fire to an "I am NOLABUILT" sign taped to the door of a Weatherhead Hall dorm room shared by sophomores Peyton Lofton and Jackson Arnold, triggering the building's fire alarm; the fire was extinguished with no injuries. Tulane police arrested three people, two Tulane students and one Brown University student, and booked them on aggravated arson charges days later; conservative commentators seized on the case after Lofton, a Young Americans for Liberty officer, said he had recently been doxed online, though police said the motive had not been confirmed.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Tulane University
Private R1 · LA
~13,500 studentsTU Alerts
Official alert policy
Read when and how Tulane says it will use TU Alert (Everbridge) — summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction224 chars
TU ALERT: Fire alarm activated at Weatherhead Hall. Evacuate the building immediately using the nearest exit. Do not use elevators. This is not a drill. Await further instructions from Tulane Police and Emergency Management.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The Tulane Hullabaloo reported the fire was set to a sign reading 'I am NOLABUILT' that had been taped to the door of the room shared by Peyton Lofton and Jackson Arnold
The building's fire alarm was activated and the fire extinguished with no injuries, consistent with a standard evacuation notice being the first alert residents would have received
Weatherhead Hall is a Tulane undergraduate residence hall on the uptown New Orleans campus
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from NOLA.com's and WWL-TV's reporting on the arrests and TUPD's statement on motive428 chars
TUPD ALERT UPDATE: Tulane University Police have arrested three individuals, two Tulane students and one visitor, in connection with the March 23 fire at Weatherhead Hall. All three face charges of aggravated arson. The investigation into a motive for the incident is ongoing. TUPD has not confirmed reports that this was a targeted or politically motivated act. Anyone with information is asked to contact TUPD at 504-865-5911.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

NOLA.com and Fox News identified the three arrested as Robert Money, 21, and David Shelton, 20, both Tulane students, and Naima Okami, 20, a Brown University student
WWL-TV reported TUPD had not confirmed the political-targeting motive that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and others promoted on social media after the sign, reading 'I am NOLABUILT,' was tied to victim Peyton Lofton's identification as a Young Americans for Liberty officer
Louisiana's aggravated arson statute, used here rather than a lesser charge, applies when it is foreseeable that setting the fire could endanger human life, reflecting the occupied residence hall setting
Context

Background

Tulane University is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Early on Saturday, March 23, 2019, a sign reading "I am NOLABUILT" that had been taped to the door of a Weatherhead Hall room shared by sophomores Peyton Lofton and Jackson Arnold was set on fire, activating the building's fire alarm; the fire was extinguished quickly and no one was hurt. NOLA.com reported Tulane University Police arrested and booked three people days later, Robert Money and David Shelton, both Tulane students, and Naima Okami, a Brown University student, on counts of aggravated arson. The case drew national attention after Lofton, an officer of Tulane's Young Americans for Liberty chapter, said he had recently been doxed online for his political affiliation, prompting Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk and other conservative commentators to publicize the case as a politically motivated attack. WWL-TV reported that Tulane University Police had not confirmed a political motive and continued investigating. The case illustrates how a small, contained residence-hall fire, a burned door sign rather than a structural blaze, can carry a serious felony charge (aggravated arson, six to twenty years under Louisiana law) because of the occupied-building risk, independent of whatever the eventual motive turns out to be.
Analysis

Key Findings

A politically themed sign taped to a Weatherhead Hall dorm room door was set on fire early on March 23, 2019, activating the building's fire alarm with no injuries
Three people, two Tulane students and one Brown University student, were arrested and charged with aggravated arson, a Louisiana felony carrying six to twenty years in prison
The victim's affiliation with Young Americans for Liberty and a recent online doxxing incident drew national conservative-media attention to the case as a politically motivated attack
Tulane University Police publicly stated the motive had not been confirmed, illustrating the gap between viral social-media framing and an open police investigation
Louisiana's aggravated arson statute applied because setting the fire on an occupied residence hall door was deemed to foreseeably endanger human life, regardless of the fire's limited physical damage
Outcome
Robert 'R.J.' Money, 21, and David 'D.J.' Shelton, 20, both Tulane students, and Naima Okami, 20, a Brown University student, were arrested and booked on counts of aggravated arson, a Louisiana felony carrying six to twenty years in prison. No injuries were reported; damage was limited to the door sign and surrounding door frame. Tulane University Police said the investigation into a motive was ongoing and had not confirmed the political-targeting claims that circulated online.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    3 arrested at Tulane for allegedly setting fire to dorm room door
    nola.com
    archived copy
  2. News
    Group says Tulane student was targeted for his political beliefs after door burned, TUPD investigating
    wwltv.com
    archived copy
  3. News
    3 arrested in Tulane dorm room arson fire of YAL-member students
    foxnews.com
    archived copy
  4. Student Paper
    Weatherhead Hall arson incident catches Twitter attention
    tulanehullabaloo.com
    archived copy
  5. Source
    3 Arrested in Dorm Fire Incident at Tulane
    insidehighered.com
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Tulane University: A Political Sign Taped to a Tulane Dorm Door Was Burned, Then Three Arrests Followed on Aggravated Arson Charges." Incident of March 23, 2019. Added July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/tulane-university-weatherhead-hall-arson-2019-03-23/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
arsonresidence-hallpolitical-targetingdoxxingaggravated-arsonlouisianaprivate-r12010sweatherhead-hallstudent-perpetrator
Added July 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion