In Spring 2004, the Freepers dogged the Dover AFB to Lafayette Park march for most of the College park to Lafayette Park leg. During the end of the civil disobedience, the Freepers suddenly disappeared, not to be seen again. Seconds later, a fire erupted in Ms Concepcion's tent in Lafayette Park. The police were extremely reluctant to investigate the fire, claiming cigarettes started it. Ms Concepcion does not smoke! Finally, other protesters found the remnants of burned matches wrapped in paper, and realized the funny smell was lighter fluid.

The fire department pronounced the fire "set," but claimed it wasn't arson, as the tent "was not a structure." Well, there have been plenty of cases of people being convicted of arson for burning SUVs and logging equipment, and those are not structures either.

The investigation ended at that point, and the arsonists were never caught. Some have wondered why the Freepers disappeared seconds before the fire began.

With a history of this kind of suspicion, Free Republic is in no position to be harassing prosecutors demanding investigations of political activists. After all, they too are political activists (of the wrong type), and they too have been accused of crimes.