Arson on Satanic Temple Headquarters in Salem, MA

Arrested June 10th on the charge of committing arson on Salem’s Satanic Temple, 42-year-old Daniel Damien Lucey has already confessed that he traveled to the city specifically to perform the self-admitted “hate crime,” reports Boston.com. Around 10 PM, Lucey was seen on the Temple’s security cameras in a beige shirt captioned with “God” as he lit the fire at the front of the building and retreated to watch. CBS News confirms that there were no injuries and the fire was extinguished safely, and police arrested Lucey on scene when he returned, “plann[ing] to turn himself in.”

Lucey is being represented by a court-appointed attorney in his defense, which began today, CBS News states. His previous charges include three counts of burning vehicles.

The targeted property was the headquarters of The Satanic Temple organization, an international body autonomy and anti-tyranny advocacy league founded in 2013—Boston.com makes the point that it should not be confused with the Church of Satan, which was founded in 1966 and is focused on the religion of Satanism rather than activism.

[This article’s title has been corrected. Previously, it erroneously located Salem as its counterpart in Oregon rather than Massachusetts.]