Monday, November 1, 2010

Mass. Man Gets Nine Years for Black Church Fire; Was Angry That America Elected a Black President

A man was sentenced to nine years in prison today (November 1, 2010) for torching a predominantly black church in the western Massachusetts city of Springfield hours after Barack Obama was elected president, according to the Associated Press website.

Benjamin Haskell of Springfield was sentenced in U.S. District Court, after pleading guilty to civil rights charges in June under a plea deal with prosecutors that called for the nine-year sentence.

The fire destroyed the Macedonia Church of God in Christ in the early morning hours of November 5, 2008, the day after Obama was elected America's first black president.

The church has about 300 members, most of whom are black.

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