Man in Florida arrested over desecrating mosque
A man has been arrested in the US state of Florida after desecrating and vandalizing a mosque amid an Islamophobia hike in the United States.
Michael Wolfe, 35, was being held on Tuesday after surveillance video showed him using a machete to break windows, lights and cameras at the Masjid al-Mumin mosque in Titusville.
The man also left raw bacon at the front door of the mosque, Titusville police said in a brief statement.
"While we welcome the prompt arrest made by Titusville police department, we urge that this case be prosecuted as a hate crime," said Rasha Mubarak of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group.
CAIR says cases of vandalism, damage and destruction of mosques reached a record high in 2015 since the organization began tallying incidents in 2009.
The use of pork as a means of intimidation qualifies as hate crime as the consumption of pig meat is forbidden by Islam.
Islamophobia particularly spiked in the US after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a "complete" ban on Muslims entering the country.
This was at least the third report of vandals leaving pork at US mosques in less than a month.
Last month, pork was left on the door handle of the Masjid-e-Tawheed mosque in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a pig's head was thrown near the al-Aqsa Islamic Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to CAIR.
Israeli-US estate tycoon brothers charged with decade-long sex trafficking
US, Canadian universities hire Israeli firms to curb pro-Palestinian protests, report says
US nuclear spending cause for concern
Russia downs over 40 Ukrainian drones as Putin vows 'destruction' on Kiev
VIDEO | Yemen: A bone in Israeli neck
D-8’s role in Iran’s economy after Cairo summit
China slams US as ‘war-addicted’ threat to global security
China ‘firmly opposes’ US military aid to Taiwan
VIDEO | Press TV's News Headlines
President Yoon Suk Yeol to be removed from office
At least 19 Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes since dawn: Medics
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
