San Francisco, CA – Today, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that Mitchell Hoyt (36) has been charged in connection to a fire that damaged the building that houses the San Francisco Hillel. Mr. Hoyt is scheduled to be arraigned on December 19, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., in Department 19 at the Hall of Justice. The District Attorney’s Office will move to have Mr. Hoyt detained pending trial without bail because of the public safety risk he poses.

Mr. Hoyt is charged with arson of a structure with an allegation of a strike prior conviction.

According to court documents, on December 5, 2025, at approximately 1:55 p.m., personnel from the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments responded to the unit block of Banbury Drive following reports of an active fire. The involved structure, known as Hillel House, is a Jewish student center. At the time of the fire, students were reported to be inside Hillel House. SFFD Arson investigators determined that the fire had originated on the west side of the building, in an area where recycling, compost, and garbage cans were stored against an exterior wall. The fire later spread to the building itself, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage. Investigators identified Mr. Hoyt as a suspect after review of surveillance video recordings.

Although this case was not presented with hate crime allegations, the District Attorney’s Office independently analyzed the evidence and found that there was insufficient evidence to pursue hate crime allegations at this time as it does not appear that the fire was set to specifically target Jewish students.

Although charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.

Court Number: 25027525

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