Detectives have arrested a Titusville, Fla., man in connection with the recent vandalism of a mosque, Florida Today reports.
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Authorities say that evidence pointed toward 35-year-old Michael Scott Wolfe, who is accused of entering the Islamic Society of Central Florida Masjid Al-Mumin around 11 p.m. New Year’s Day and using a machete to smash through the mosque and break windows, lights and cameras. He then allegedly left bacon on the front door of the mosque. Wolfe has been charged with mischief to a mosque, a third-degree felony, the news site notes.
The accused vandal is currently being held at Florida’s Brevard County Jail on $2,000 bail.
“You can’t help but feel this is a hateful act [because of] all of the negative media, the politicians who want to ban Muslims, close mosques,” Muhammad Musri, who supervises 10 mosques as part of the Islamic Society of Central Brevard, told the news site. “Messages like that motivate people who have an illness in their heart.”
Wolfe’s alleged actions have also had an impact on the community.
“People are afraid to take their children back to the mosque … a machete was used,” Rasha Mubarak, the Orlando regional coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, added. “They know we don’t consume pork. This is something that those who are Islamophobic tend to bring up or use.”
According to Florida Today, it is not clear whether authorities intend to investigate the incident as a hate crime. Musri, however, has been in touch with the FBI, which investigates such crimes.
Read more at USA Today.
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