Virginia city councilman Lee Vogler doused in gasoline and lit on fire in attack at his office

A man poured gasoline on a Virginia city councilman and set him on fire Wednesday, police said.

Danville City Council member Lee Vogler, 38, was attacked at the office of a local media outlet, Showcase Magazine, where he works, in Danville, a small city roughly 45 miles northwest of Greensboro, North Carolina, police said in a statement.

A man entered the office Wednesday morning and confronted Republican lawmaker before he doused him in flammable liquid, authorities said. Vogler and the suspect then exited the building, where the suspect lit Vogler on fire, they said.

Police said that Vogler, the City Council's youngest member, was airlifted to a hospital and that his condition remains unknown.

In a brief phone call Thursday, council member L.G. “Larry” Campbell, Jr. said that 60% of Vogler's body was burned. When asked if Vogler was expected to survive, Campbell said, "I haven’t heard anything else, sir."

Police identified the suspect as Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29, of Danville. He fled but was picked up by law enforcement several blocks away, police added.

Hayes has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding, police said on X. He is being held in the Danville City Jail under no bond, police said.

A court-appointed attorney for Hayes declined to comment.

Police said the attack "stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation."

Court records indicate that Hayes’ wife filed for divorce just over two weeks before the alleged attack.

Attacks on local and national politicians have become more common in the United States in recent years.

In 2020, 14 men were arrested in connection with a domestic terrorism plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state's government. Last year, Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts while he was campaigning for president. In April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was firebombed by a man who disagreed with his views on the war in Gaza.

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And last month, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated in what authorities described as a politically motivated attack.

Andrew Brooks, the publisher and owner of Showcase Magazine, addressed the attack Wednesday in a video the magazine posted on Facebook. He said Vogler was awake and en route to a burn center in Lynchburg.

"This type of senseless act of violence has to stop, " he said in the video. "You do not have the right as a human being to get upset with someone enough to lash out and attempt to harm them in any way, much less this way."

In a brief phone call, Danville Vice Mayor James Buckner said, "Please keep our fellow council member in your thoughts and prayers."

Hayes was arraigned in court Thursday morning, Senior Assistant Commonwealth Attorney David B. McKaig said in a statement. He will next appear in court on Sept. 30.