Man arrested for planting fake Molotov cocktail at Seattle strip club after making threats

Seattle police arrested a 34-year-old man early Wednesday after he allegedly made a fake Molotov cocktail, threatened to burn down a strip club, hurled antisemitic slurs at an employee, and signed his name with a swastika.

According to a redacted police report obtained by the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), the suspect, identified as Samuel Benson Cooney, was detained shortly after 1:27 am on November 12, following a series of incidents that began at the CitizenM Hotel on Yesler Way.

At 12:23 am, hotel employees called 911 to report that a guest had been seen leaving the building “holding a bottle with a cloth in it,” which appeared to be a Molotov cocktail. Officers arrived within minutes but could not locate the man.

Hotel staff provided police with CCTV footage showing Cooney carrying what looked like a Molotov cocktail, and that they had already asked Cooney to leave the property due to erratic behavior and had deactivated his room key.

A friend of Cooney’s told police that Cooney was acting “really weird” and “saying things that did not make any sense.” Based on the CCTV footage, officers developed probable cause for Weapons Apparently Capable of Producing Bodily Harm.

Cooney was found walking near 1st Avenue and Seneca Street. After being read his Miranda rights, he told police he had deliberately made his water bottle to look like a Molotov cocktail because he thought it would be “funny.” He said the bottle contained only water and pills, and that he had left it outside Showgirls, a strip club on 1st Avenue.

While speaking with officers, Cooney allegedly said he wanted to “cleanse the world of pedophiles.” Officers found the bottle outside the club and noted that it could easily be mistaken for an incendiary weapon. Police placed Cooney under arrest for Malicious Placement of an Intimidation Device.

When the police returned to Showgirls to interview witnesses, staff told responding officers that Cooney had consumed a couple of alcoholic beverages and then began berating employees, demanding to know, “When will the hot girls arrive?”

A dancer told police that Cooney directed antisemitic insults at her, apparently based on his belief that she was Jewish. According to the officer’s report, Cooney accused her of being after his money, said “Mazel tov, b*tch,” and signed his receipt with a swastika.

Staff said they removed Cooney from the club, at which point he allegedly threatened to burn the club down, adding, “Not by me, but by my Nazi friends.”

During a search of the suspect, officers found sketches in Cooney’s pocket: a Star of David and a rope tied like a noose. Cooney told officers there was “nothing illegal” about the drawings, but the arresting officer noted that, together with his statements, they contributed to probable cause for a Hate Crime Offense involving antisemitism.

Because the specific hate crime charge did not exist in the jail booking system, officers booked him under Felony Harassment, with notations referencing the hate-crime applicability.

According to the jail records referenced in the report, Cooney has a documented criminal history, which includes hate-crime offenses, felony harassment, assault of a child, and multiple other counts of assault.

Seattle Police told JNS that their Bias Crimes Coordinator had been notified and would review the case. A search of the suspect's alleged social media accounts revealed Nazi imagery and images glorifying Luigi Mangioni.