Arrests Made in Springfield, Massachusetts Church Arson

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON – Three individuals were arrested this morning in relation to a church arson on Nov. 5, 2008, in Springfield, Mass. Benjamin Haskell,22, Michael Jacques, 24, andThomas Gleason,21, all of Springfield, Mass., were arrested early this morning on a civil rights violation, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker; U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation - 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. "Today's arrests demonstrate the Department of Justice's unwavering commitment to enforcing the nation's civil rights laws," Becker said. "Racial violence tears at the fabric of our great nation and will not be tolerated." In documents unsealed today, the government alleged that in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2008, Haskel, Jacques and Gleason engaged in a conspiracy to burn and succeeded at burning the Macedonia Church of God in Christ’s building, a newly constructed building where religious services were to be held for a predominantly African American congregation. The building was 75 percent completed at the time of the fire, which destroyed the entire structure, leaving only the metal superstructure and a small portion of the front corner intact. Investigators determined ”