Standing at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce on Thursday where investigators said an arson fire ravaged part of the facility, a longtime worshipper vowed the plan is to rebuild.
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Alfonso said the 32-year-old Schreiber joined the Messianic Jewish congregation he led at the Lawtey Correctional Institution.
“The Facebook posts were evident that there is anti-Islamic propaganda and that corroborates our fear that in fact this does have to do with hate for the Islamic community”, Thompson said.
“Under Florida law, Schreiber will be charged with arson and Florida’s hate crime enhancement will also be applied to the charge”, Jill Roberts of member station WQCS in Fort Pierce reports for our Newscast unit.
Deputies said they searched Schreiber’s home and also found a motorcycle matching the one that was seen in surveillance video, speeding away from the fire. The arson occurred on the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11 attacks, as well as during Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest Muslim holidays.
Schreiber, who has a lengthy criminal history, was appointed a public defender.
Schreiber, of Port St. Lucie, was arrested Wednesday after investigators received tips identifying him as the man who appeared in a surveillance video approaching the building with a bottle of liquid and papers.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said emergency crews responded to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce shortly after midnight on September 12 and extinguished the flames, which were shooting several feet into the air.
All of his arrests were made by agencies in Martin and St. Lucie counties.
Mateen is the gunman from Fort Pierce who went on a shooting rampage June 12 at an Orlando gay nightclub, leaving 49 dead.
Numerous arrests relate to relatively minor crimes, such as shoplifting, trespassing, battery, probation violation and larceny, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.
Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.
Joseph Michael Schreiber facing charge of arson and hate crime over incident in U.S. state on anniversary of 9/11 attacks.
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Benson said his reform synagogue, Temple Beth El Israel, has tried unsuccessfully in the past to reach out to the mosque. He said Schreiber sometimes would say something against Muslims, but “we would tell him that’s not what we believe, that it is not godly”. “We belong here; they gave us this feeling”.
