x
Breaking News
More () »

Victoria mosque arsonist sentenced to more than 24 years for hate crime

Marq Vincent Perez was found guilty in July for burning the Victoria Islamic Center in January 2017.

WASHINGTON — A man convicted of setting a South Texas mosque ablaze last year was sentenced Wednesday.

Marq Vincent Perez, 26, was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for burning down the Victoria Islamic Center on Jan. 28, 2017.

In July, it took the jury about three hours of deliberations before finding him guilty of three felony counts including damage to a religious property, use of fire to commit a federal felony and possession of a destructive device related to an earlier incident.

"Mr. Perez sought to provoke terror within the tranquil space of the Victoria Islamic Center," FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Edward Michel said. "By deliberately burning down this mosque, Mr. Perez attacked a specific religious congregation in the hope of spreading fear, conflict and depriving Victoria’s Islamic community of their peaceful and safe place to worship. Today's sentencing illustrates that hate crimes will not be tolerated. No one in this country should feel afraid to openly practice their religion or express their beliefs. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate civil rights violations wherever and whenever they occur."

Testimony at trial detailed how Perez conducted what he described as “recon” by breaking into the mosque a week before he set it on fire. Evidence presented at trial showed that Perez communicated with someone through Facebook about breaking into the mosque a second time, the same night of the fire.

A witness who was with Perez on the night of the fire described how Perez used a lighter to set papers on fire inside the mosque and how excited Perez was upon seeing the mosque in flames just minutes later. The witness testified that Perez said that he burned down the mosque, because he wanted to “send a message.” During the execution of a search warrant, federal agents recovered stolen property taken from the mosque the night of the fire in Perez’s home. Several witnesses at trial also testified about Perez’s animus towards Muslims and that he often used anti-Muslim slurs.

When Perez learned that the Victoria Muslim community had raised money to rebuild the mosque, he told a witness that he would burn the mosque down again if it was rebuilt.

Members of the mosque testified at the trial that they watched from afar as federal, state, and local law enforcement officers tried to extinguish the fire, but observed that the fire could not be put out until it had engulfed the entire mosque. Those witnesses also testified that, after the destruction of the mosque, the Victoria Islamic Center raised money online from over 20,000 individuals from all over the United States and over 90 countries to rebuild the mosque.

PREVIOUSLY: Trial begins for man accused of setting fire to Texas mosque

PREVIOUSLY: Jury convicts Texas mosque arsonist who wanted to 'terrorize' Muslims

Before You Leave, Check This Out