Firefighters extinguish blaze at historic St. John's Church in D.C.

Police officers outside of St. John&#039;s Church.

(Image credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

published 1 June 2020

Police said a fire was intentionally set in the basement of the historic St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., late Sunday night, but firefighters were able to quickly put the blaze out.

The church opened in 1816, and every president since James Madison has attended services there. D.C. firefighters also extinguished a fire in the lobby of the AFL-CIO building and another in a small building at Lafayette Park, across from the White House.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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