Who is James Yoo, man linked to Arlington house explosion in Virginia
A Virginia man with a history of rambling social media posts and "frivolous" lawsuits has been linked to the Arlington house that exploded Monday night after police arrived to investigate claims that someone inside was shooting flares into the neighborhood.
Public records show James Yoo, 56, lived in a duplex house on the block shown exploding in eyewitness video. Police, however, have not publicly identified a suspect.
Although his LinkedIn profile appears to have been disabled, Yoo preserved some of his posts on a YouTube page along with silent videos showing court filings from some of his failed lawsuits. Two of the videos showing his recent LinkedIn posts appeared to have been removed Tuesday morning.
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The posts refer to his ex-wife as a "witch," and anti-U.S. slogans including "#F---AMERICA" and quotes from Noam Chomsky.
The profile description claims he is a "Former Head of Information and Physical Security for international telecommunication company."
"I gave THEM / Y'ALL every opportunity to 'do the right thing' and all I see is America's hypocrisy, corruption, fraud, conspiracy…" the bio continues.
Alex Wilson, a neighbor who recorded video of the explosion, described Yoo in an interview with the local outlet Arlington Now as a "recluse" who covered his windows in aluminum foil.
In one of his most recent posts, from Dec. 1, he posted a rant about his neighbor's "activity" and that, "This is how White people operate and have the luxury of outnumbering all other ‘races’ by almost 7 to 1 in 'Merica." In another post from late October, he claimed that he was being targeted with "hateful messaging" and made reference to assassination.
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In February of last year, he tried to sue his ex-wife, the state of New York and more than a dozen others, alleging fraud, conspiracy to deprive him of civil rights and other charges. A federal judge dismissed the complaint with prejudice two months later, calling the lawsuit "frivolous and confused." It was among a "string" of similar complaints that were also dismissed.
In court documents and social media posts, he lists his address as on North Burlington Street – where police responded Monday night before the explosion.
Shocking video shows a law enforcement vehicle approaching the house before a fireball engulfs the scene. The explosion tore into the sky, and the building crumpled to the ground. The force of the blast set off at least one car alarm in the neighborhood.
Police said they first responded to the house around 4:45 p.m. after someone inside fired dozens of rounds from a flare gun "into the surrounding neighborhood."
Police tried to make contact with phone calls and loudspeakers but were ignored.
"As officers were attempting to execute the search warrant, the suspect discharged several rounds, from what is believed to be a firearm, inside the home," police said in a statement. "Subsequently, at approximately 8:25 p.m., an explosion occurred at the residence. The investigation into the circumstances of the explosion are ongoing."
Three officers suffered minor injuries in the blast, but none required hospitalization, authorities said. Firefighters had the scene under control around 10:30 p.m. but continued to douse spot fires into the late night hours.
Calls and emails to Arlington police were unanswered Tuesday morning.