Houston: Not Berkeley East after all

Ben Browning and Nik Edgell were lucky to escape from their bookstore when an arsonist set it on fire Feb. 26 — but they weren't fortunate enough to avoid what they say was harassment from arson investigators who showed up to look into the blaze. The issue, apparently, is that the bookstore — Sedition Books, at 4420 Washington Ave. — offered literature on anarchism, Communism, gay rights, radical feminism, socialism and other "viewpoints outside the political mainstream," as the Chronicle put it. The shop was also a meeting place for the local radical community, and all that reportedly led arson investigators to question Browning and Edgell's patriotism:

"It looks like you guys are pretty anti-American — what's the deal with that?" Browning recalled one asking. Sporting tattoos and pink combat boots, Browning is opposed to the war in Iraq and against American imperialism, but he denies being anti-American.

"I was kind of shocked because I'm standing in the ruins of something I put my life into. ... I was just like, 'Huh?' He said, 'Don't you know capitalism runs everything?'

"I said, 'Are you here to investigate my political beliefs or the fire?' He said, 'This is just my personal opinion. ... I don't understand how somebody can live in this country and act the way you do.'"

In another room, Edgell said, he also was put on the defensive by another arson investigator.

"He asked me what my political stance was. I said, 'I'm an anarchist.' He said, 'Oh? You don't like the federal government much, do you?"

Browning and Edgell said a supervisor who spoke with them later seemed interested in getting information about the fire rather than their political views, but explained that "politically extreme" ventures like theirs are prone to be targeted by arsonists or other criminals. True enough, apparently.

HFD arson division chief Roy Paul told the Chronicle that Browning and Edgell may file a complaint if they feel that the investigators acted unprofessionally: "The reason we have internal affairs investigations is so they put down in writing what was said, and then it can be addressed," Paul said. "If they think (the investigators) were rude, they just need to make a complaint, and we'll look into it." But the pair didn't get the investigators' names, and they said they don't plan to file a complaint anyway: "We really don't think it would do any good," Edgell told the Chron.

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Photo: Sedition Books