Missouri man charged with hate crime in arson that destroyed Islamic Center
A southeastern Missouri man is facing state and federal charges for allegedly torching the Cape Girardeau Islamic Center April 24, the first full day of Ramadan.
42-year-old Nicholas Proffitt was convicted of felony property damage as a hate crime for vandalizing the same center more than a decade ago in 2009. In both crimes, investigators believe Proffitt targeted the center because of the religion of those who worship there.
"To people of faith in our nation, houses of worship are sacred places," said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband said in a statement. "Attacks against houses of worship are attacks against people of faith and their right to exercise their religion freely and without fear."
Richard Quinn, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI St. Louis Division, said "the fact this fire damaged a place of worship during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is especially harmful."
In the latest case, Proffitt is facing charges of felony burglary, felony first-degree arson and first degree property damage enhanced as a hate crime, according to the Cape Girardeau Police Department. He is also facing federal arson charges.
According to a federal criminal complaint, investigators believe Proffitt is the man seen on the center's video surveillance system breaking a window by throwing multiple objects and two canisters inside. The man is then seen entering the building through the window, dousing the area with some kind of liquid from the two canisters and lighting the liquid on fire before fleeing.
Investigators responding to the scene immediately suspected arson because the blaze spread quickly to other parts of the building, which has space for religious services on the first floor and living units for several renters on the second floor. Some of the renters were home at the time, but no one was injured, according to the complaint.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise funds to restore the center said it sustained $1 million worth of damage and was later determined a total loss.
"We are very sad about these things, but we believe we are going to be okay and we are going to rebuild," resident Baker Abo told CBS affiliate KFVS.
Investigators say the suspect was seen on surveillance video getting into a red Ford Escape he had parked in a county transit authority lot. Investigators found a truck that matched the description parked at Cape Girardeau apartment complex. The truck's owner, Profitt's fiancée, told investigators that Proffitt had used the truck the morning of the fire. Investigators also saw a Shell oil can inside, similar to the canisters found at the Islamic Center.
When they showed the fiancée the surveillance video, she identified the arsonist as Proffitt and said he lived with her at the home. Proffitt was later arrested at his workplace, a Perryville food processing plant. Officers found he had receipts for purchasing motor oil from a gas station the day of the arson, according to the complaint.
In the 2009 case, the Southeast Missourian reported that Proffitt was charged with property damage for throwing rocks at the center's front door and damaging a car in its parking lot. Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker told the paper Proffitt served a three-year sentence after the charges were enhanced as a hate crime. In the latest case, Proffitt is facing the maximum possible charges under the state's hate crime statute, Welker told the paper.
In a statement, the advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations praised the arrest, but called for hate crime charges at the federal level.
