In what feels like the complete opposite of '90s black metal, a man with the word "GOD" on his shirt tried to burn down the Satanic Temple building on Bridge Street in Salem, MA on Friday night. According to the Boston Globe via Salem police Lieutenant Dennis Gaudet, the man was identified as 42 year-old Daniel Lucey who is now facing charges of arson of a dwelling, interfering with civil rights, and destruction to a place of worship. CBS further reports that Lucey has since confessed to traveling to Salem with the intention of lighting the temple on fire, and that he intended for it to be a hate crime.
Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves took to Twitter to post a handful of photos from the night, adding "We will fix it. We will clean it up, air out the smoke, and we will reopen. We are extremely grateful to be in Salem, and a part of the Salem community, which has been nothing but helpful and supportive."
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll also commented to Boston 25 News, calling the arson a hate crime. The temple was evacuated at the time of the fire, no injuries were reported, and the building only sustained damage to the front porch.
"I am enormously grateful for the quick and professional response by the Salem Police and Fire departments to last night's criminal arson attempt and share our community's relief that no one was hurt in this awful incident," said Driscoll. "On behalf of the City of Salem, we condemn this hateful attack. Salem is a welcoming place, and the actions of this individual are not reflective of who we are or our values as a community."
