Three arrests in Mass. church arson

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Three suspects have been arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed a church in Springfield, Mass., the day after Election Day, federal officials said.

The Macedonian Church of God in Christ was under construction when it was destroyed Nov. 5. Massachusetts Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said the fire was intentionally set.

There was no conclusive evidence the arson was a hate crime, officials said at the time, but the church's congregation is primarily black and the fire was set the day after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that Benjamin Haskell, 22, Michael Jacques, 24, and Thomas Gleason, 21, all of Springfield, were arrested Friday morning on a civil rights violation.

Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said the arrests "demonstrate the Department of Justice's unwavering commitment to enforcing the nation's civil rights laws."

"Racial violence tears at the fabric of our great nation and will not be tolerated," Becker said.

In documents unsealed Friday, investigators alleged that Haskell, Jacques and Gleason used gasoline to burn the building. The suspects have been charged with conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate the church parishioners "in the free exercise or enjoyment" of their constitutional rights.

If convicted, the three suspects could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, the Justice Department said in a news release.