Philadelphia man indicted on federal civil rights charges in anti-Islamic arson attack

Federal prosecutors have indicted 60-year-old Vincent Lang of Philadelphia for deliberately setting fire to the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center.

A federal grand jury charged Lang with one count of malicious damage by fire to a building used in interstate commerce and one count of damage to religious real property.

The Department of Justice confirmed that the indictment explicitly alleges Lang carried out the arson because of the religious character of the building, specifically targeting it because it was a Muslim place of worship.

According to court documents and surveillance footage, the perpetrator approached the mosque on Tyson Avenue during the early hours of 5 July, ignited an improvised incendiary device, and threw it into the entryway. Local authorities reported that no injuries occurred during the blaze.

Lang has remained in federal custody following his initial arrest on 16 July. If convicted on the federal civil rights charges, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and up to a maximum penalty of 40 years.