Three Men Indicted for Racially-Motivated Church Arson in Springfield, Mass.

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON – Three individuals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts for conspiring to interfere with the civil rights of members of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a Springfield, Mass., church with a predominantly African-American congregation. The indictment was announced by Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan for the District of Massachusetts; Glenn N. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Boston Field Division; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; Colonel Mark Delaney, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; William Bennett, Hampden County District Attorney; and Commissioner William J. Fitchet of the Springfield Police Department. The church’s newly constructed building burned to the ground on Nov. 5, 2008, hours after the election of President Barack Obama. The indictment alleges that Benjamin Haskell, 22, Michael Jacques, 24, and Thomas Gleason, 21, all of Springfield, conspired to burn the church in retaliation for the election of the country’s first African-American president. "These allegations of racial violence connected with the presidential election are serious and disturbing," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King. "The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute individuals who conspire to commit such acts of violence and intimidation." The indictment alleges that several hours after Barack Obama was elected Presiden”