Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Leads to Arrest of Person from Mountain View, California, Suspected of Setting Fire to Oldest Japanese Buddhist Soto Zen Monastery in the United States
June 8, 2026 – Monterey County Sheriff’s Office officials are announcing that a Ramey warrant
has been issued and served for 36-year-old GuoGuo Lu of Mountain View, California. Lu has been arrested in connection with the investigation of the March 27th, 2026, fire at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, located at 39171 Tassajara Road in Carmel Valley. This is the oldest Japanese Buddhist Soto Zen monastery in the United States.
Deputies with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office began investigating this incident and they were able to locate public online statements connecting her to the fire and making threats of future violence directed towards Buddhist temples in California…