The people behind an activist community cafe in my neighborhood, Café Mawonaj, have written an open letter that implies a recent fire there was arson, the police stood by while the store was looted, and the DC Fire Department isn’t doing much in the way of investigating the incident. To top it off:

The night after the fire, Chip Ellis, a real estate developer who bought the property last month, showed up about 9 a.m. on Monday. I’m not sure how he knew the building had been on fire but it wasn’t me who called him. His composition is what concerns me, because the first words that came out of his mouth were:

“I’m glad this happened. I want you to get the F**K out of here and take your business someplace else. We are going to tear this building down and do something else with it.�

Decide for yourself — Read the letter here.