A Maine man was charged with hate crimes on Thursday in connection with the destruction of a predominately black church in Massachusetts.
Dushko Vulchev, 44, is in state custody and is accused of setting Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Massachusetts, on fire on three separate dates last year. He was charged with four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal felony, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
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The government alleges Vulchev started a fire on Dec. 28 that caused extensive damage, according to court documents. Prosecutors have also accused the man of setting one fire at the church on Dec. 13 and two on Dec. 15.
Security video and location data from Vulchev’s phone show him “at or near the scene of many of the alleged crimes,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Messages from Vulchev sent in December call for eliminating “all N*****s,” according to charging documents.
In a message on Dec. 19, Vulchev allegedly wrote, “If I am raped in prison it better be by white people instead of filthy and nasty N——, who are ugly and grotesk! … If its not white then its not right,” according to NBC News.
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If convicted, Vulchev could be in prison for the rest of his life. Prosecutors say the charge of damage to religious property involving fire can come with a 20-year prison sentence, and the charge of use of fire to commit a federal felony can provide a sentence of at least 10 years in prison.
Vulchev will make an initial appearance in federal court in Springfield at a later date, the Justice Department said.
