Political Strategist Has House, Cars Blown Up

A political strategist in Louisiana saw his possessions go up in smoke this week when two firebombs blew up his cars and spread far enough to burn down his home, WWL reports via Fusion. Mario Zervigon, his family, and fellow tenants escaped their New Orleans apartment building on Thursday, leaving Zervigon stunned by an attack that investigators say is clearly arson. "I don't know if I was targeted," he tells the Times-Picayune. "I don't know what's what. It's just a shock." Zervigon works as a fundraiser for state utility regulatory board candidate Forest Bradley-Wright, who believes that people with solar panels should be allowed to sell off their extra electricity to utility companies.

Bradley-Wright is in a runoff with incumbent Eric Skrmetta, who wants to limit the amount that solar users can sell. "I don't know if [the attack] is connected to anything I do," says Zervigon. What he's done lately: help Bradley-Wright raise about $210,000, including $100,000 over the past 10 days—which nearly equals the $215,000 that Skrmetta has raised. The ATF, which is investigating because the blaze destroyed a commercial building, says it will take "a few weeks" to turn up lab results on the fire. "Obviously, someone did this," says Zervigon's wife. "Why would you think anything like this would ever happen in New Orleans?" (Read about the brutal fight over an environmental lawsuit in Louisiana.)