A Mayfair man faces an additional civil rights charge for trying to burn down a Northeast Philly mosque, feds say
Vincent Lang, 60, is accused of throwing an incendiary device into the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center.
A Mayfair man accused of trying to set fire to a Northeast Philadelphia mosque is now also facing a federal civil rights charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Vincent Lang was arrested last month and charged with a federal arson-related offense for allegedly throwing an incendiary device into the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center on July 5.
On Thursday, prosecutors announced that they’d also moved to indict Lang on a count of damaging religious property, something U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said “demonstrates our resolve to protect our core constitutional liberty of religion.”
Lang, 60, has been in federal custody since he was arrested for the arson offense, which carries a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence if he’s convicted.
The new charge means Lang faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 40 years, prosecutors said.
His federal defender declined to comment Friday.
Lang is accused of attacking the mosque, on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, on July 5 around 2 a.m. The building was unoccupied at the time and no injuries were reported, but its front porch sustained significant damage.
Two days after the attack, authorities received a tip that Lang was involved. Investigators who surveilled his house found his black SUV with handwritten messages and stickers saying things like “White Pride” “F- Islam,” and “Federal Terrorist Hunting License,” prosecutors said.
On social media, investigators also found what they believed to be accounts linked to Lang that had expressed anti-Islamic views as well as comments on the arson investigation, prosecutors said. One of the posts about the investigation said: “How can it be a hate crime they might have done it out of love,” prosecutors said.
The local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, applauded what it called a thorough and meaningful investigation into the attack.
“This indictment sends an important message that attacks targeting houses of worship because of their faith are not ordinary crimes, they are assaults on the fundamental civil rights and religious freedom of entire communities,” said Dr. Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia.
