TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A man was arrested Monday on allegations of vandalizing a Brevard County mosque and leaving bacon near the front door.
Michael Scott Wolfe, 35, of Titusville, was arrested at 6:11 p.m. in the incident. He faces charges of criminal mischief to a mosque, a third-degree felony.
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Police said an investigation revealed that Wolfe entered the carport of Central Florida’s Masjid Al-Mu'min at 1011 South Washington Ave. at 11 p.m. Friday and destroyed property with a machete and placed raw bacon in and around the front door.
Officers said several cameras, lights and windows were broken and bacon was left near the front door of the mosque. Pork is prohibited in Islam, a faith followed by 1.6 billion people worldwide.
WKMG spotted surveillance cameras mangled, wires dangling, windows smashed and security lights broken.
"It's very disturbing, it's disenchanting," said Rasha Mubarak, the director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Orlando region. "The first time I heard about the news was through a relative in Titusville. They were there earlier that day with their children. It's a place where their children go to play with their friends and now they're afraid to take their kids there."
"Really it's a shock to our town," said Titusville City Councilman Matt Barringer. "We understand there may be frustrations felt throughout the community, although they may be unjust, taking out the frustration in this way is cowardly and most people recognize it for that."
WKMG emailed and called Titusville police public affairs coordinator Amy Matthews several times on Monday asking for a copy of the surveillance video but Matthew did not respond. WKMG-TV also left a voicemail that was not returned for the detective investigating the case.
Mubarak said the vandalism was a hate crime in particular because of the bacon left at the front door.
Wolfe was taken to the Brevard County Jail and is expected to appear before a judge Tuesday.
"We're grateful that no one was hurt in Titusville but we want to have them investigate this as a hate crime so God forbid the next time we do hear about this it's not that someone's life had to be taken" said Mubarak.
Mubarak said CAIR is concerned about violence escalating after as many as 17 hate crimes against Muslims were reported in the last two months across the country. She said CAIR gets death threats daily.
"What we're doing is conducting security training across Florida not only for mosques but for any kind of community center," said Mubarak. "We do it at synagogues, churches, active shooter training, what to do inside a community center, how to be safe, God forbid there is an incident like this you're prepared as much as possible."
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 321-264-7800 or remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward by calling Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.