The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida), the state’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, today strongly condemned the racist vandalism targeting the historic St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Ocala, Florida, and welcomed a hate crime investigation by local police while calling on federal authorities to follow suit.
On May 19, just days after a devastating accidental electrical fire left the 134-year-old sanctuary structurally condemned, church officials discovered that the sacred space had been unlawfully entered and severely defaced. Intruders scrawled explicit white supremacist slurs and disturbing imagery featuring death faces with demon horns both inside the sanctuary and on the exterior church signage. The Ocala Police Department and the FBI have been formally notified and are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
“This vile and cowardly desecration of a historic house of worship—especially while its congregation is actively mourning the heartbreaking loss of their sanctuary to a fire—is a stark reminder of the malice fueled by white supremacy and anti-Black racism,” said CAIR-Florida Communications Director Wilfredo Amr Ruiz. “We unequivocally condemn this hateful assault on the St. Paul AME Church family. We welcome the swift decision by local law enforcement to pursue a comprehensive hate crime investigation, and we demand that those responsible be brought to justice. We call on the FBI and any other federal law enforcement agency to join this criminal investigation.”
Ruiz added that the American Muslim community and CAIR-Florida stand in resolute solidarity with the St. Paul AME congregation, leadership, and all marginalized communities confronting the rising tide of anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and all other institutional forms of bigotry.
SEE: Church vandalized following fire | Ocala Gazette
CAIR-Florida’s mission is to enhance an understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR-Florida es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, proteger las libertades civiles, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, Esq., CAIR-Florida Communications Director, 305.502.6749, [email protected]