Washington, March 26: A US man who pleaded guilty to firebombing a Tennessee mosque and daubing swastikas on part of the Muslim religious facility has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.
Eric Ian Baker was sentenced Thursday to 183 months in prison for an attack in which he and two other men painted swastikas and the phrases “We run the world” and “White Power” on a mosque before throwing Molotov cocktails at the facility.
The mosque was destroyed in the attack.
Baker’s co-defendant Michael Corey Golden was sentenced to 171 months for his role in the attack, the Justice Department said in a statement.
A third attacker, Jonathan Edward Stone, has been convicted but awaits sentencing.
“The right to worship without fear of this kind of violent interference is among our most fundamental civil rights,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
“We will aggressively prosecute anyone who seeks to intimidate or injure any congregation because of what they believe, how they worship, or who they are.”
There were reports that Baker’s partners have planned for a week to burn down the Islamic centre in Columbia, because Baker had told them “what goes on in that building is illegal according to the Bible.”
At least two of the three men are said to be followers of a racist hate group called ‘Christian Identity’.
Stone is said to have told officials that his role in the fire earned him “two stripes” from Baker, who is his Christian Identity sponsor.
He is quoted as saying that Christian Identity members earn stripes “for committing acts of violence against enemies.”
The three men are also believed to be members of the white supremacist group ‘Aryan Alliance’.
—Agencies