Trial starts in alleged Obama-inspired church fire
By Associated Press | Sunday, March 20, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
This Oct. 20, 2009 photograph shows Michael Jacques during a hearing on arson-related charges in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield, Mass.
Photo by AP
Federal prosecutors portray Michael Jacques as a racist who was so upset when Barack Obama was elected president that he and two other white men burned down a predominantly black church in western Massachusetts.
Jacques insists through his lawyer that he’s innocent and was coerced into signing a confession after more than six hours of interrogation as he suffered through painkiller and nicotine withdrawal.
A U.S. District Court jury in Springfield will hear both sides of the story Monday during opening arguments in Jacques’ trial. Judge Michael Ponsor has set aside six weeks for the jury trial.
Prosecutors say Jacques and the other defendants burned down the under-construction Macedonia Church of God in Christ early on Nov. 5, 2008, just hours after Obama was elected the nation’s first black president.
The church was to serve the congregation’s 300 members, 90 percent of whom were black, and the head pastor says the faithful are rebuilding.
"It’s been a test of our faith," said Bishop Bryant Robinson. "If not for our faith, we might have folded our tents and slipped away into the night. But we refused to let that site become a monument to hatred, violence and racism."
Prosecutors say the suspects poured gas inside and outside the church and lit it ablaze. The building was destroyed; some firefighters were injured but recovered.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Regan, one of several prosecutors on the case, declined to comment about the upcoming trial. Jacques’ attorney, Lori Levinson said, "He didn’t do it. He wasn’t there."
Jacques, 26, of Springfield, is charged with conspiracy against civil rights, damage to religious property, use of fire to commit a felony and aiding and abetting. The charges carry up to 60 years in prison.
Benjamin Haskell, 24, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to civil rights charges and was sentenced in November to nine years in prison.
Thomas Gleason, 23, who lived on the same street as the church, pleaded guilty last year to charges similar to the ones against Jacques. He awaits sentencing and is expected to testify against Jacques.
A grand jury indictment alleges that the co-conspirators "used racial slurs and expressed anger about the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States" and that they discussed burning the church because its members were African-American.
Levinson wrote in court documents that Jacques maintained his innocence through most of the six-plus hours of interrogation, only to end up breaking down and signing a confession because he thought he could leave afterward and satisfy his cravings for Percocet and cigarettes.
"He would have signed anything in order to possibly obtain the opportunity to leave the premises," Levinson wrote.
Levinson tried to have the confession excluded from the trial, but the judge rejected the request.
Robinson said the new church was about 75 percent completed when it burned. Afterward, the church got insurance money and a $1.8 million construction loan to start construction all over again, he said.
The building is now nearly 90 percent finished, and Robinson is hoping it will be open this summer.
Robinson said he may attend parts of Jacques’ trial. But he said he’s more focused on completing the new church, which he said will help the congregation grow, have better facilities for programs and solve some handicap access problems.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1324760
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