Nashville, Tennessee, US
AP
A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Wednesday to civil rights violations for setting fires at four churches, prosecutors said.
Alan Douglas Fox, 28, of Nashville, admitted during the plea hearing that he intentionally set the fires because of the churches’ religious character, the US attorney’s office said in a news release.
The fires were set at the Crievewood United Methodist Church on 17th June, 2019; the Crievewood Baptist Church on 25th June, 2019; the Saint Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church on 25th June, 2019; and the Priest Lake Community Baptist Church on 26th June, 2019. He also pleaded guilty to carrying and using a firearm during the fire at the Crievewood Baptist Church.
“The freedom to practice the religion we choose, without discrimination or danger, is a fundamental civil right in our nation and a hallmark of our democracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Fox will be sentenced in federal court on 11th February. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each fire and a consecutive five-year sentence for the firearms violation.
