One week before the U.S. Presidential election, Hopewell Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi was set ablaze and the words “Vote Trump” were spray-painted on its side. Here’s what the disturbing scene looked like.
Although nobody knew who did it or their motivations at the time, many immediately and irresponsibly categorized it as a hate crime. As CNN reported:
Investigators continue to collect evidence, and there are no suspects yet, Greenville Police Chief Delando Wilson said at the news conference. Later, Wilson told CNN that police brought in a person of interest Wednesday afternoon and “are interviewing this person to determine if they had any participation in this event or if we can clear them.” Police are investigating multiple motives, including that the fire could be a hate crime.
Mayor Errick Simmons said he spoke to some of the church’s 200 congregants who were fearful and felt intimidated. They felt the vandalism was not just an attack on the church, but on the black community, he said.
“It happened in the ’50s, it happened in the ’60s, but we’re in 2016 and that should not happen,” he said.
Fortunately, that’s not what happened. As the AP just reported:
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