Birmingham, Ala.
Three college students were arrested last week in connection with a spate of church fires in rural Alabama. Police said the young men torched the first church as “a prank” after a night of deer hunting. They then allegedly set eight other fires to “confuse” investigators by making it appear the arsons were somehow religiously or politically motivated. The suspects were identified as Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee DeBusk Jr., both 19, and Matthew Lee Cloyd, 20. Cloyd’s lawyer said the attacks were “not a hate crime.” Churchgoers said they were relieved they didn’t have to fear more attacks. “I would just like to know what they were thinking,” said Jim Parker, pastor of one of the burned churches.
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