Police in Alabama have arrested three men in connection with a string of church fires in that state and scheduled a news conference on March 7.
According to the Associated Press, the three men are Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee Debusk Jr., students at Birmingham-Southern College, and Matthew Lee Cloyd, a student at the University of Alabama.
At least 10 Baptist churches were set fire in Alabama in February, destroying five of them. Race apparently was not a factor – five are predominantly black churches, five predominantly white. Four of the 10 churches are Southern Baptist.
Five church fires were set late Feb. 2, followed by another four late Feb. 6. A 10th church was set fire Feb. 11. It was the only one of the 10 that was targeted during the daytime.
Federal agents told the Associated Press that the suspects said the first set of fires were set as “a joke,” and the second set of fires to serve as a diversion. The men apparently are not believed to be connected to the 10th fire.
All of the churches are located in central and western Alabama.