BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont businessman Tom Flanagan is claiming his innocence after his offices were raided as part of the arson of the Gilbert Building.
A search warrant in the Wednesday morning raid names Flanagan as a potential arson suspect. The search warrant, signed by Jefferson County’s 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West, specifically referred to Flanagan as a “suspected party.”
Flanagan owns the Gilbert Building which was gutted by the blaze.
In a statement from Flanagan released by his lawyer, James Makin, Flanagan claims he is not involved in the fire at all.
"Let me be unequivocable – I was not involved, nor am I aware of any other person or people who may have been involved in the fire," he said.
Flanagan claims that he has nothing to gain from the destruction of the building.
"To have been the cause of the fire would not only serve to destroy property I own, but to endanger other properties in the immediate vicinity I own which are occupied with tenants," said Flanagan.
In the statement he says that the Gilbert Building fire has caused more trouble for him than any good.
"This fire has only caused a huge headache for me, from city counsel meetings to employing engineers, environmental cleanup crews and attorneys, it is costing substantially more to preserve the building, while fighting to do so, and simultaneously doing the work. There is no logical reason I would have ever done what is being alleged, nor am I the type of person who would ever engage in such activities," Flanagan said.
Beaumont Fire Department investigators were assisted by Beaumont Police and agents from the ATF as they executed the warrant Wednesday at Flanagan’s offices in the San Jacinto Building at 595 Orleans in downtown.
A City of Beaumont and Beaumont Police spokesperson both confirmed earlier that the warrant was related to the Gilbert Building fire in June 2024. An ATF spokesperson confirmed their agents were assisting in serving the warrant.
By mid-morning more than 20 boxes had been removed and loaded into a Beaumont Fire Department van parked outside the building.
Just before 2 p.m. investigators said they may be at the offices until midnight, according to a City of Beaumont spokesperson.
An agent from Homeland Security Investigations was also seen at the building.
In the past Flanagan has told 12News that he believed the Gilbert Building fire could have been intentionally set.
The night of the fire, Flanagan told 12News that the Gilbert Building is the second downtown property he owns that has had a fire the last two years.
"The fire was set by vandals and possible arson. This is not the first fire that occurred downtown," Flanagan told 12News at the time.
Read Flanagan's full statement below:
“Initially, I would like to thank the press outlets who are providing me an opportunity to address the investigation of the fire at the Gilbert building. That is the justification I was given when a multiagency task force comprised of ATF officers, FBI agents, the Beaumont Police Department, and other officials executed a search warrant of my offices today. They have seized a voluminous number of records and a number of electronic devices. While I am presently unaware of the full scope of the investigation, I know they suspect I was somehow involved in the fire which destroyed the Gilbert building. Let me be unequivocable – I was not involved, nor am I aware of any other person or people who may have been involved in the fire. To have been the cause of the fire would not only serve to destroy property I own, but to endanger other properties in the immediate vicinity I own which are occupied with tenants. I am actively trying to save the original structure of the Gilbert building at a cost of more than half a million dollars which comes out of my pocket. If the fire had spread, it would have jeopardized business income in the form of commercial rent payments. In short, this fire has only caused a huge headache for me, from city counsel meetings to employing engineers, environmental cleanup crews, and attorneys, it is costing substantially more to preserve the building, while fighting to do so, and simultaneously doing the work. There is no logical reason I would have ever done what is being alleged, nor am I the type of person who would ever engage in such activities."