Ex-Convict Sentenced to 30 Years for US Mosque Fire

Ex-convict Joseph Schneider.

Washington,10 Jumadil Awwal 1438/07 February 2017 (MINA) – An ex-convict was charged with 30 years in prison for setting a Florida mosque on fire, KUNA reported, citing US media.

Joseph Schneider pleaded no contest to second-degree arson against the mosque that Orlando nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen, sometimes attended.

Schneider had also posted anti-Islamic rants online claiming that “all Islam is radical” and that Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Although he pleaded no contest to the charge, prosecutors argued that he confessed to detectives that he set fire to the mosque on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks.

Despite no one being injured in the fire, the mosque underwent such extensive damage leaders recently announced that it will move.

The man had been previously convicted twice on theft charges and served two separate prison sentences. (T/RS05/RS01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)