DOJ says man charged over Philadelphia mosque fire

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday a man was charged with arson in relation to a fire last week at a mosque in Philadelphia. 

Here are the details:

• Vincent Lang, 60, of Philadelphia was arrested and charged “with one count of maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire any building or property used in interstate commerce, or attempting to do so, in connection with an arson fire last week at a city mosque,” the DOJ said in a statement.

• The criminal complaint alleges that on July 5, Lang approached the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, lit an improvised incendiary device, and threw it into the entryway of the mosque, triggering a fire inside the building.

• If convicted, Lang faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment, the DOJ said.

• An NBC News affiliate reported no one was injured in the incident that the DOJ said took place in the “early hours” of July 5.

• A representative of Lang could not be reached for comment.

• U.S. rights advocates have noted rising Islamophobia in the decades following the September 11, 2001 attacks, and more recently because of anti-immigration policies, white supremacy and the fallout from Israel’s war in Gaza.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry)