Marine Vet Set Fire in Ohio Mosque
While the story seems more attributable to alcohol than religion, a veteran US Marine has admitted to setting fire to a Toledo mosque in response to attacks on the US military in Afghanistan:
Randy Linn pleaded guilty to hate crime charges, saying he’d become enraged after seeing images of wounded soldiers in the news.
“Every day you turn on the TV, you see Muslims trying to kill Americans,” said Linn, a truck driver from St. Joe.When asked by a federal judge whether he thought all Muslims are terrorists, he answered: “I’d say most of them are.”
A sprinkler system extinguished the fire. Notably, U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary called the mosque a “symbol of peace” and said Linn was
no better than the terrorists or extremists [he] sought to punish.
The arson resulted in a plea deal that netted the 52-year-old Linn 20 years in prison.