The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office will not file criminal charges against a man who police say left a suspicious package outside the Portland Museum of Art last month.
Kyle Fitzsimons, 37, of Lebanon is facing federal charges in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was arrested last week and will be transferred to the District of Columbia for prosecution there.
The Portland Police Department had identified him as the person who was captured on security video placing a package outside the museum on Jan. 23. The package did not contain an explosive device, but police cordoned off Congress Square for more than three hours and evacuated nearby businesses during their investigation.
“After reviewing the investigative reports from the Portland Police Department, there is insufficient evidence of criminal conduct, and due to that, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office will not be pressing criminal charges,” District Attorney Jonathan Sahrbeck said in an email Friday.
Police have not said what they believe motivated Fitzsimons to place the package outside the museum. They described the package as “made up of feathers surrounding a box” but never said what, if anything, was inside. The word “BALM” was also spray-painted on the sidewalk.
“The contents of the package can be described as concerning and a criminal investigation is currently underway to determine who placed the package and their motivation for this act,” a police spokesman said at the time.
Neither the police nor the prosecutor’s office has released more information about that case.
The museum did not respond to an email to its communications office late Friday afternoon.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
