Two active-duty US Space Force officers said their Washington, DC home was deliberately set on fire and their car vandalized with anti-Trump and anti-military slogans while their family was out of town for Christmas.
Major Jason Mills, 37, received a call from police around 5am on December 28 informing him that the house he and his wife Major Kaylee Taylor, 34, share had been burglarized and torched.
Fire officials later determined that two separate fires were intentionally ignited from inside the home. Authorities said the incidents are being investigated as a targeted attack.
Alongside the fire, Mills’ vehicle was ransacked and defaced with profanity-laden messages including ‘F*** Trump’ and ‘F*** you space man.’
The graffiti escalated concerns that the arson was part of politically-motivated violence against military personnel in the nation’s capital.
The brazen fire attack destroyed nearly everything they owned along with the family cat.
Major Jason Mills, who goes by the call sign ‘Red,’ says he and his wife, who are both active-duty members of the United States Space Force, were in Florida with their 10-month-old daughter when he received a phone call.
It was police in Washington DC alerting him that their house had been set ablaze.
‘I would say there is a general anti-military sentiment in certain parts of D.C. nowadays,’ Mills told the Daily Caller, speaking in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Space Force or the Department of Defense.
The home of Major Jason Mills, 37, and his wife Major Kaylee Taylor, 34, who both serve in Space Force, was set ablaze in a suspected case of arson
Fire officials say the blaze was incendiary and not an accident
Anti-Trump and anti-military slogans were scrawled across the officers’ vandalized car
By the time the Mills family rushed back to the capital, fire officials had already begin their investigation.
They believe an individual intentionally started two separate fires inside the home – one in the kitchen and another in the basement – leading authorities to classify the incident as incendiary.
Mills explained how his car had also been ransacked, had its mirrors torn off and papers scattered throughout the interior.
Black ink had been smeared across the dashboard and mirrors, and expletive-laced messages were left behind.
A sticker representing the Air Force Research Laboratory was found defaced with a large ‘X.’
Because of what he described as the targeted nature of the attack, Mills said he immediately notified his chain of command.
‘The response has been heartwarming,’ he said.
In the days that followed, Mills and his wife returned to the wreckage wearing hazmat suits, sifting through the soot and debris for anything that could be saved.
Among the ashes the couple were able to save some mementos including photographs
The two active-duty Space Force members lost nearly everything they owned overnight
The family car was also vandalized with black ink daubed across the windshield
In the aftermath, family members set up a GoFundMe to help the couple rebuild their lives
Most of their possessions were gone. Clothing, furniture, baby supplies and keepsakes were all destroyed by flames, smoke, or water.
But some items did survive. Mills said they managed to recover his daughter’s hospital bracelet from the day she was born, along with a handful of framed baby photos.
Sadly, the family’s pet cat, Marlee, perished in the blaze after becoming trapped inside the home during the fire.
A police report details how a man was taken into custody after being found with items from the home. Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing.
In the aftermath, family members set up a GoFundMe to help the couple rebuild their lives.
The fundraiser describes the incident as an ‘unimaginable tragedy,’ noting that the family ‘lost pretty much everything they owned’ and now faces the daunting task of starting over from scratch.
U.S. Space Force Major Kaylee Taylor is seen in a photograph from 2021
The couple are seen wearing hazmat suits having been able to salvage some possessions
One message read ‘F*** U.S.D.S,’ which could stand for ‘United States DOGE Service’
The home was completely gutted following the devastating fire that was set in two places
Donations have poured in with the fundraising pulling in more than $110,000
At least one person has been arrested following the devastating fire that has left the family home uninhabitable. The family cat was also killed during blaze
Graffiti using black ink was seen dripping across the windshield of the family car
What should have been a first Christmas with their baby became a fight to rebuild their lives
Donations have poured in with the fundraising pulling in more than $110,000 as of Saturday.
‘I was blown away by students from the school I taught at sending like 500 bucks each,’ Mills said adding how the military community helped circulate the fundraiser widely.
‘Me and the family are super, super thankful and grateful for all the support we’ve been shown so far,’ Mills said.
‘It’s way above and beyond anything we expected… it’s been frankly overwhelming and in the best possible way.’
