Photo Source: Mass Live.com
As you will recall, I wrote about the torching of a historically black church in Springfield, Massachusetts, hours after Barack Obama was elected our next president. Well, police has arrested three white men — Benjamin Haskell, Michael Jacques and Thomas Gleason — for the crime. They are currently being held without bail after a hearing in federal court on charges that they deliberating torched the church.
Authorities say the men, all Springfield men in their 20s, initially denied involvement then blamed each other for the idea to burn down the Macedonia Church of God in Christ. A judge continued the hearing until Wednesday and said he is considering setting $100,000 bail with electronic monitoring for the men.
The Nov. 5 fire at the church, which was under construction, destroyed the building with $2 million in damage. The men were charged Friday in a criminal complaint with violating a civil rights conspiracy statute that makes it illegal to injure, threaten or intimidate anyone from exercising their civil rights. No pleas were entered at Friday’s hearing.
There were some commenters who said that I was rushing to judgment and that this was not racially motivated. News flash — it was!
Filed under: Church Fire, Macedonia Church of God, President-elect Barack Obama, Springfield Massachusetts, Violation of Civil Rights Conspiracy Statute
Black Political Thought 