Fact Check: Suspected Spokane Arsonist Aaron F. Farinacci Is NOT A Registered Republican Voter -- Washington Voters Do NOT Choose Party Affiliation When Registering

This is what a screenshot of the video in the post looked like at the time of writing:

(Image source: post by @chiweethedog on X.)

The combined posts are embedded below:

Right wing registered Republican voter, Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, Spokane, WA arrested on arson charge. https://t.co/G6rKvXesrk

-- Roy Drones Jr (@chiweethedog) August 4, 2026

Farinacci was arrested and charged with first-degree arson (archived here) by the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney's Office on Aug. 3, 2026, in connection with the Old Trails Fire, which destroyed hundreds of structures (archived here).

The claim in the post that Farinacci is a registered Republican in Washington state cannot be true. The Washington Secretary of State's "Register to Vote in Washington" webpage (archived here) states:

Political parties

Voters in Washington do not choose a party when registering to vote and may vote for any candidate on the ballot.

In the "FAQs for Voters" section (archived here) of the Secretary of State's website -- under "How do I change my political party affiliation?" -- the office reiterates that Washington voter registration is not tied to a political party. It says:

Voters in Washington do not choose a party when registering to vote. If you want to become a member of a political party, contact the party directly.

We were not able to find a voter registration in the state of Washington for anyone by that name.

Lead Stories also reached out to the Washington State Republican Party to see if Farinacci was a member. The party had not responded by the time of publication, but this story will be updated if it provides a response.