A gang of alleged arsonists has been busted after targeting Walmart stores in a series of fires around Alabama and Mississippi

• Authorities have accused five men of targeting Walmart stores in a series of arson attacks.
• The four fires all occurred in Alabama and Mississippi in May and June of 2021.

An alleged arson crew calling themselves the Veterans Order stands accused of setting fires in four Walmart stores and attempting to coerce the retail giant with a threatening manifesto.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama obtained a grand jury indictment against five men on Wednesday. Court documents outline an outfit that used disguises, lighter fluid, and a burner phone to carry out arson attacks in Alabama and Mississippi, but the ultimate motive behind the attacks is unclear.

Seamus Hughes, deputy director at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, broke the news about the Veterans Order in a thread on Twitter.

—Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) February 24, 2022

In the indictment, which Hughes sent to Insider, the defendants are presented as an interconnected crew of Nebraska transplants living in Alabama, bound by family ties. Each of the five defendants is currently based in Gulf Shores, Alabama. All were rooming together — along with three women — in a rental house in Lillian, Alabama, at the time of the fires.

The first accused conspirator listed in the filing is Jeffery Sikes, who is described as a federal fugitive who pled guilty to wire fraud in Nebraska but skipped town with his wife before his sentencing hearing. Other alleged conspirators include: Sikes' brother-in-law, Sean Bottorff, who disappeared with his wife around the same time; Sean Bottorff's stepson, Michael Bottorff; Michael's former classmate Quinton Olson; and Olson's older brother, Alexander, who all subsequently moved to Alabama.

The defendants have each been charged with "conspiracy to maliciously destroy by fire." Sikes and Alexander Olson face additional counts around the arsons as well.

Each arson attack featured a similar modus operandi. The attacks all occurred during business hours, when employees and shoppers were in the stores. All four incidents started when a "heavily disguised" man and woman arrived and moved around the store separately, before setting a fire and escaping. Currently, none of the women involved in the arson attacks have been named. In each incident, Michael Bottorff's minivan was spotted near the store.

The first arson took place at the Walmart on I-65 Service Road in Mobile, Alabama on May 27, 2021. Alexander Olson and an unidentified woman are accused of entering the store starting a fire by spraying a rack of men's clothing with lighter fluid and leaving accelerant-doused rags in the hardware department. Olson and another unidentified woman are also accused of committing the second arson the following day, at the Walmart located on Rangeline, Road in Mobile. Hours later, Alexander Olson allegedly obtained a TracFone at a different Walmart in Daphne, Alabama, which was then used to set up a Gmail account.

Prosecutors say the group used that email account to email a six-page manifesto titled "Declaration of War and Demands for the People," explaining the crew's demands and threatening more arsons. The document included a seal created with melted red wax. It is unclear what specific demands were included in the manifesto, but the indictment said that they pertained to Walmart's "commerce practices." The crew allegedly sent that manifesto to news stations around Mobile.

On June 4, 2021, an unidentified man and woman set fires in the home goods and sporting goods sections of a Gulfport, Mississippi. Later that day, an unidentified man and woman entered a second Walmart in Biloxi, Mississippi. A vendor witnessed the woman setting a fire in the home goods section, and unsuccessfully gave chase.

Days after the double arsons, NBC reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had posted a $2,500 reward for information on the fires. Then, on June 11, 2021, the burner phone associated with the crew emailed an unnamed foreign news outlet declaring, "We are the Veterans Order and we will not stop until change is made."

"The FBI and local law enforcement have done an outstanding job," Randy Hargrove, Walmart's Senior Director of National Media Relations, told Insider. "From the onset, we've work closely with the authorities throughout the investigation, and we're going to continue assisting them."

The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.