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Man accused of setting Ocala church on fire charged with federal hate crime

Man faces at least 10 years behind bars if convicted

Steven Anthony Shields (Marion County Sheriff's Office)

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 24-year-old Marion County man is charged with a federal hate crime after he set a church in Ocala on fire last summer, prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice say.

Steven Shields was indicted by a federal grand jury in Orlando, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday.

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Shields, of Dunnellon, was arrested in July after investigators said he plowed his van into the front doors of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala as people prepared for services inside.

He then got out of the van and threw some kind of incendiary device, causing a fire that resulted in extensive damage to the building, according to deputies. Shields drove off but was stopped by deputies nearby, records show.

Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office

Shields told detectives what he did was “awesome,” and he smiled and laughed, the affidavit said. He told detectives he was “on a mission,” called himself “king” and that he has problems with the Catholic Church and referenced passages in the Bible’s Book of Revelations

According to the indictment, Shields was motivated by the religious character of the church. Shields is charged with one count of intentional damage to religious property, a hate crime charge that falls under the Church Arson Prevention Act, and one count of using fire to commit a felony.

If convicted, he faces a maximum term of 20 years for intentionally damaging religious property and additional mandatory minimum of 10 years fire to commit a felony, according to prosecutors, who added that the 24-year-old also faces up to three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution.


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