Arson suspect arrested in connection to fire at a Missouri mosque.

SCREEN CAPTURE / KFVS

Police believe the fire at the Islamic Center was arson.

ASAM NEWS

Police have arrested a suspect in connection to last week's attempt to burn down the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Officers say 42-year-old Nicholas Proffitt of Cape Girardeau was arrested Monday. The suspect is charged with felony burglary in the 1st degree, felony arson in the 1st degree, and charged with the hate crime of property damage in the 1st degree, which is enhanced because Proffitt was motivated to commite the crime by the religion of the people who worship at the Islamic Center.

"To people of faith in our nation, houses of worship are sacred places,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “Attacks against houses of worship are attacks against people of faith and their right to exercise their religion freely and without fear. The Justice Department will defend the right of all people in our country to exercise their religion, no matter the creed.”

The timing is especially significant because the fire was started on the first day of Ramadan, a Muslim holy month. The fire began at the front door of the building, according to the Missouri chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy group.

Twelve to 15 people were evacuated and uninjured, according to state officials. Meanwhile, the building itself was “extensively damaged,” including the front entrance and the second floor, Fire Chief Travis Hollis said.

The fire at Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, as well as the state’s fire marshal, as a potential case of arson, according to Al Jazeera.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson took to Twitter to condemn the fire.

“In Missouri, we won’t tolerate an attack on any house of worship,” he said. “This was a cowardly act.”

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

3 Illinois men indicted on civil rights & hate crime charges for bombing Islamic Center

Go Fund Me

Suspects set off a bomb at the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

A FIVE-COUNT federal indictment, including federal civil rights and hate crime violations, were filed against three men in connection with an explosion at the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center (DAF) in Bloomington, Minnesota, on Aug. 5, 2017.

The three defendants, Michael Hari, 47, Michael McWhorter, 29, and Joe Morris, 22, are currently being held in custody in Urbana, Illinois,  were previously named in a criminal complaint filed on March 13, 2018, in the District of Minnesota, charging them with arson in attacking the Women's Health Practice.

Court documents say McWhorter said that the defendants did not intend to kill anyone, but they wanted to “scare (Muslims) out of the country” and to “show them hey, you’re not welcome here…” 

The indictments filed Thursday (June 21) allege the three were part of a militia group called the White Rabbits.

“All people – regardless of where they worship – have the right under federal law to live free from the threat of violence and discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore.  “This Justice Department will hold accountable under the law anyone who attempts to commit violent acts of hate by threat or action.”

“These three defendants allegedly plotted and executed a plan designed specifically to spread fear and threaten a fundamental right afforded to all, the freedom of religion,” said U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald. “In spite of the destructive and violent act alleged in the indictment, our communities have found strength in taking a unified stand against the attack.”

“Last year's bombing was more than just an attack against a single structure, it was an attack on the very religious freedoms we enjoy as Americans,” said Jill Sanborn, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Minneapolis Division. “The ability to worship how and where we want is a cornerstone of our country's foundation."

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that Hari constructed a pipe bomb and rented a pickup truck in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Hari, McWhorter, and Morris drove from Illinois to Bloomington, Minnesota, in the pickup truck, stopping along the way to purchase diesel fuel and gasoline. The defendants mixed these ingredients together in a plastic container.

The indictment alleges that, in the early morning of Aug. 5, 2017, Morris broke a window at DAF and threw the plastic container containing the diesel fuel and gasoline mixture into the building. It is alleged that McWhorter then lit the fuse and threw the pipe bomb in the broken window at DAF. According to the court documents, the window that was broken was part of the Imam’s office. When the pipe bomb exploded, it ignited the mixture in the plastic container, causing extensive damage in the Imam’s office. McWhorter and Morris returned to the pickup truck, where Hari was waiting, and sped off, driving back to Illinois.

As described in the complaint previously filed with the Court, a tip from a confidential source helped to lead investigators to the defendants.

At a press conference after the trio were arrested in March, he said, Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim advocacy and civil liberties group Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We recognize the early motivations are exactly what the anti-Muslim organizing has pushed — to push Muslims out, to drive fear in our communities. But today we want to reaffirm that our community is going to be resilient."

Texas man charged with hate crime for burning mosque

SCREEN CAPTURE

The Islamic Center in Victoria, Texas was completely destroyed by the alleged arsonist.

A FEDERAL GRAND JURY in Victoria, Texas, has returned a three-count superseding indictment against Marq Vincent Perez, 25, for allegedly burning down the Victoria Islamic Center on Jan. 28, 2017.

I'm not sure why they had to have a grand jury to figure out torching a mosque was a hate crime, but maybe Texans just want to make doubly sure.

Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez made the announcement along with a bevy of local and federal law enforcement agencies Thursday, June 22.

"Intentionally defacing, damaging or destroy a house of worship, such as the mosque here, is a federal crime," said Martinez. "Such crimes will not be tolerated."

Perez was previously indicted for possession of an unregistered destructive device for an incident that occurred on Jan. 15, 2017. The superseding indictment returned today, June 23, now charges him with a hate crime – damage to a religious property as well as use of a fire to commit a federal felony in relation to the arson at the mosque.

Perez was initially arrested and charged March 3, 2017, in connection with an attempt to blow up a car with a destructive device. At a detention hearing held the following week, court heard evidence linking Perez to a Jan. 22, 2017, burglary of the Victoria Islamic Center as well as a Jan. 28, 2017, burglary and arson of the same mosque. Perez is in custody pending further criminal proceedings. 

RELATED:

• Texas mosque burned down
• Trump inspires hate, says report

If convicted, Perez faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the hate crime. He also faces up to 10 years for possessing an unregistered destructive device. If convicted of use of a fire to commit a felony, the penalty is a consecutive and mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. All of the counts also carry a potential $250,000 penalty.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

ATF and FBI conducted the investigation along with the City of Victoria Fire Marshal’s Office, Victoria Fire Department, Victoria Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division and Texas Rangers with assistance of Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office and sheriff’s offices in Victoria and Nueces Counties. 

Martinez said his district, the southern District of Texas, which includes the city of Houston and Brownsville, has the second largest Islamic population in the U.S., second only to Lansing, Michigan.

The alleged hate crime occurred a week after Donald Trump was installed as President and was cited by media as an example of the growing Islamaphobia in the country. Trump critics claim the rise in anti-Muslim acts are due to the anti-Muslim rhetoric employed by Trump and his campaign.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharad S. Khandelwal and Kate Suh are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

###

Texas Mosque burned down

SCREEN CAPTURE

Firefighters tried to douse the flames consuming the Islamic Center of Victoria, Center.

SO IT BEGINS.

Hours after President Trump signed an Executive Order banning refugees from seven Mid-East countries that are predominantly Muslim, a mosque in Victoria, Texas was burned to the ground.

Flames engulfed the Islamic Center of Victoria, destroying the building in the predawn hours this morning (Jan. 28) as congregation members watched from the curb, overcome with emotion.

“It’s a house of worship,” Shahid Hashmi told the Victoria Advocate. Hash  president of the center, watched the flames from across the street. 

The mosque is home to more than 100 members and serves as a place of worship and community gathering, Hashmi said.

Members of the mosque had planned to complete the day's remaining calls to prayer at the destroyed building this morning but fire investigators would not allow them near the burnt-out building while the cause of the fire is being investigated.

"They said it ... is a restricted area for now for the investigation," Hashmi said. "So, we just prayed right here on this" sidewalk.

And, members of the Victoria community, of all faiths, are invited to join members of the Victoria Islamic Center at 10 a.m. Sunday at the site of the destroyed mosque for a prayer service, he said.

Although Hashmi said the mosque was burglarized Jan. 21, he was unwilling to speculate that the fire was the result of arson.

RELATED:

• Trump signs order banning refugees
• Hate crimes vs. Muslims spike 

Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order temporarily banning Muslims from seven countries, refugees or immigrants, from entering the U.S. 

Although there is no evidence the Trump's action and the mosque burning are linked, there has been a marked spike in hate crimes, especially against Muslims, since Trump won the presidency last November.

Hashmi was reluctant to jump to conclusions, however. A Muslim man was arrested for suspicion of burning a mosque in Houston last year.

###