Local law enforcement and federal officials are investigating the burning of an African-American church in western Mississippi on Tuesday night as a potential hate crime, according to multiple reports.
The FBI’s Jackson office announced on Wednesday that it is working “with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to determine if any civil rights crimes were committed.” In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s office.
Around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, emergency services received a call about a fire at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville. Although firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze and no one was injured, the 111-year-old sanctuary was irreversibly damaged in the fire. Following the blaze, first responders discovered “Vote Trump” written on the side of the building.
Mayor Errick Simmons told reporters on Wednesday that church members had told him they were worried and felt intimidated by the possibly racially motivated attack. The mayor deemed it “a heinous, hateful and cowardly act.”
Last month, a local Republican Party headquarters in North Carolina was also torched. The suspects wrote “Nazi Republicans leave town or else” on the side of the building.
#WJZ Church burns in Greenville, MS Words “Vote Trump” spray painted on side. Investigators on scene.@cbsbaltimore pic.twitter.com/GdOhJkO0PW
— Vic Carter WJZ (@VicWJZ) November 2, 2016
