When Denis Vladmirovich Molla told authorities that his camper was set on fire and his garage defaced, the Minnesota man said that whoever carried out the attack was motivated by the “Trump 2020” flag he had displayed from his vehicle. As pictures circulated of a vandalized garage door in September 2020 that was spray-painted with “Biden 2020,” “BLM” and an anarchy symbol, Molla collected thousands of dollars for the reported arson through his insurance company and online donations from sympathetic Trump supporters who denounced the politically motivated attack.

“It just shocked me,” Molla told WCCO hours after the incident. “This kind of stuff should not happen, especially over beliefs of some sort.”

But prosecutors have concluded almost two years later that Molla staged the entire incident. ...