{"id":156701,"date":"2021-04-18T16:59:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T20:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/?p=156701"},"modified":"2021-04-18T17:00:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T21:00:45","slug":"dushko-vulchev-set-fire-to-black-church-over-hatred-of-black-people-feds-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/dushko-vulchev-set-fire-to-black-church-over-hatred-of-black-people-feds-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Dushko Vulchev Set Fire To Black Church Over \u2018Hatred Of Black People,\u2019 Feds Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2013 (DOJ)<\/em> – A Maine man was charged Thursday in federal court in Springfield in connection with setting the Dec. 28, 2020 fire that destroyed a predominately Black church in Springfield, Mass.<\/p>\n

Dushko Vulchev, 44, of Houlton, Maine, was charged by criminal complaint with four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal felony.<\/p>\n

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Mass. has a primarily Black congregation, and the church is named in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. According to court documents, an intentionally set fire caused extensive damage to the church in the early morning hours of Dec. 28, 2020. In court documents, the government alleges that Vulchev set the Dec. 28 fire. The government also alleges that Vulchev is also responsible for several other fires set on church property and for a series of tires slashings on church property and in the surrounding area. The additional fires alleged include a fire at the backdoor of the church on Dec. 13, 2020 and two additional fires near the rear door of the church on Dec. 15, 2020. Investigation, including the review of security video and location data from Vulchev\u2019s mobile telephone, showed Vulchev at or near the scene of many of the alleged crimes, including the Dec. 28, 2020 fire that severely damaged the church.<\/p>\n