Man indicted for hate crime for Texas mosque fire
VICTORIA, Texas — A man has been indicted on a hate crime charge for a January fire that destroyed a Texas mosque, authorities announced on Thursday.
Marq Vincent Perez is accused by federal prosecutors of starting a Jan. 28 fire that destroyed the Islamic centre in his hometown of Victoria, located 125 miles southwest of Houston.
Perez, 25, was indicted on two counts on Thursday: hate crime-damage to religious property and use of a fire to commit a federal felony.
He had previously been indicted for possession of an unregistered destructive device for an unrelated incident in which he is accused of trying to set fire to a former friend’s car on Jan. 15.