Adam KlasfeldApr 15th, 2021, 2:02 pm
Federal prosecutors charged suspected arsonist Dushko Vulchev, seen on the right, with hate crimes for allegedly setting Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Mass. ablaze last December, in the photo on the left.
In the days before and after last Christmas, an apparent crime spree kept occurring in and around Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Mass., from tire slashing incidents in the surrounding area and acts of arson of varying sizes inside the house of worship. Then, on Dec. 28, the Black church was destroyed in a blaze.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors brought hate crime charges against the suspected perpetrator:
Houlton man charged with federal hate crime in church arson
Dushko Valchev, 44, has been charged in connection with a fire that destroyed a predominately Black church in Springfield, Mass. Author: Julie Sherburne (NEWS CENTER Maine), Gabrielle Mannino (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 12:43 PM EDT April 15, 2021 Updated: 4:49 PM EDT April 15, 2021
The Houlton man was charged with four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal felony.
Vulchev is in state custody and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Springfield, Mass. at a later date.
According to court documents, an intentionally set fire caused extensive damage to the church, which has a primarily Black congregation, in the early morning of Dec. 28, 2020.
Arson of Black church leads to federal hate crime charges nydailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nydailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Morgan Gstalter - 04/15/21 01:56 PM EDT
A man is facing hate crime and arson charges after he allegedly set fire to a predominately Black church in Massachusetts named after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Dushko Vulchev of Maine, 44, was charged in a criminal complaint with four counts of damage to religious property and one count committing a federal felony using fire, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
Vulchev has been charged in connection with the extensive damage caused to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield during the early morning hours of Dec. 28.
Church burning suspect Dushko Vulchev had ‘racial animus’ against Black people, Muslims and Asians, investigators say
Updated Apr 15, 2021;
Posted Apr 15, 2021
Photographs included in an FBI affidavit allegedly show church arson suspect Dushko Vulchev stealing a tire from a car in downtown Springfield in December 2020.
Facebook Share
SPRINGFIELD Investigators who scoured church arson suspect Dushko Vulchev’s cell phone, computer and social media messages in late December uncovered signs of deep racial animus toward Black people and other racial and ethnic groups, according to newly unsealed court records.
On Christmas Day, according to an FBI affidavit, he sent a message that included a racial slur in calling to “eliminate all” Black people. The message, sent to a witness who was not named in the document, added, “it’s a matter of life and death, we are way behind schedule!”