A Rhode Island man has admitted to setting several fires around a predominantly Black church earlier this year, according to a federal plea agreement. Kevin Colantonio purchased a lighter and gasoline before setting the fires around the Shiloh Gospel Temple in North Providence on February 11. The building was vacant at the time and the fires were quickly extinguished by first responders. A search of Colantonio’s home turned up notebooks and writings that included phrases expressing hatred towards people of different races and ethnicities.
The plea agreement states that Colantonio intentionally targeted the church because of the “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, and/or ethnicity of the congregants.” Most of the Pentecostal congregation is Black and African American. No injuries were reported, but the fires caused property damage.
Colantonio faces four counts: obstruction of the free exercise of religious beliefs, malicious damage by means of fire, and two counts of assault on a federal officer. If served consecutively, he faces 56 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, a fine of $1 million and three years of supervised release. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for January 7.