By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The FBI is investigating a fire that tore through a black church in Mississippi that was scrawled with the message, “Vote Trump,” in silver spray paint.
The bureau’s civil rights investigation is in coordination with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.
The suspicious fire Tuesday night caused heavy damage to the 200-member Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, the New York Times reports.
Mayor Errick Simmons described the fire and graffiti as a “heinous, hateful, cowardly act.”
“We consider it a hate crime … because of the political message which we believe was intended to interfere with worship and intimidate voters,” Simmons said. “This act is a direct assault on people’s right to freely worship.”
The FBI said it’s working with all levels of law enforcement.
“The FBI Jackson Division is aware of the situation in Greenville, and we are working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to determine if any civil rights crimes were committed,” state FBI spokesman Brett Carr said in an email.
