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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2005
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES TEXAS MAN PLEADED GUILTY TO ATTACKING ISLAMIC CENTER
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Johnny Sutton, and Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ralph G. Diaz announced today that Antonio Flores has pleaded guilty to charges relating to an attempted firebombing of the Islamic Center of El Paso in El Paso, Texas.
"Religiously- and racially-motivated crimes are among the most ugly and hateful acts faced today," said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Bigoted and ignorant behavior such as attempting to firebomb a place of worship will not be tolerated, and the Justice Department will prosecute vigorously those who would attempt such abhorrent acts."
The defendant pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to violating 18 U.S.C. § 247, which prohibits damaging or attempting to damage religious property, and 18 U.S.C. § 844(h), which prohibits the use of fire or an explosive device in the commission of a felony. At his plea hearing, Flores admitted that he threw a Molotov cocktail at the Islamic Center and placed a second, similar device near a gas meter on the Center's property.
Flores faces a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, a potential $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.
The Justice Department has investigated over 600 incidents of "backlash" since September 11, 2001. Federal charges have been brought in 22 cases against 27 defendants, yielding the conviction of 22 defendants to date. Six federal prosecutions are currently pending trial or sentencing. With the help of the Department of Justice in a number of cases, state and local authorities have brought nearly 150 criminal prosecutions.
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