Missouri grand jury hands federal hate crime charge to man accused of setting fire at Islamic center

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A Missouri man is facing a slew of federal charges including a hate crime after he allegedly set fire to a mosque in April.

A federal grand jury indicted 42-year-old Nicholas Proffitt with damaging religious property because of the property's religious character, using fire to commit a federal felony, and damaging a building used in interstate commerce through use of fire after a blaze ripped through the Cape Girardeau Islamic Center, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis said Tuesday.

MISSOURI MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY SPARKED MOSQUE FIRE CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME

Proffitt, of Cape Girardeau, was initially charged with state counts that included first-degree burglary, first-degree arson and first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination — a state hate crime.

The fire broke out on April 24 in the wee hours of the morning, shortly before 5 a.m. as worshippers gathered for their morning prayers during the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Video surveillance from the center showed Proffitt throwing several objects through a window, followed by two containers into the center through the broken glass, federal prosecutors said.

Proffitt then stepped through the broken window, picked up the containers, and began dousing the center with liquid accelerating before lighting a fire that erupted immediately.

There were 12 to 15 people inside the building at the time who all escaped without injury, police said.

Proffitt served the maximum of three years in prison in 2009 after he pleaded guilty to throwing rocks and damaging the same mosque and a vehicle in the parking lot at the time.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.