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.
Photo: Marion County Sheriff's OfficeShields told detectives what he did was “awesome,” and he smiled and laughed, the affidavit said.
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.
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