Florida Man Is Arrested And Sentenced To 15 Years After Leaving Bacon At Mosque 

09 Dec, 2017 by Sonja Bochow

Print this article Font size -16+

Michael Wolfe of Titusville, FL, has received a fifteen-year sentence for breaking windows with a machete and leaving raw bacon on the doorstep of a Florida mosque. The Islamic Society Of Central Florida had security camera footage which showed Mr. Wolfe engaging in the crimes for which he was charged and sentenced after pleading guilty to vandalism and hate crimes. The crime was classified as a hate crime by the Brevard and Seminole County prosecutors, after consulting with the Titusville police and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and therefore was subject to different penalties.

Wilfredo Ruiz, of the Florida chapter of CAIR, said, “The Florida Muslim Community is suffering an unprecedented number of hate crimes. Multiple mosques and Islamic institutions have been broken into, vandalized and even set on fire.”

Imam Muhammad Musri, who is in charge of several mosques in the area, noted, “The intent is to really deter similar kinds of hate crime. After what we’ve seen in Texas at the church, this is needed.”

It looks like Mr. Wolfe will have 15 long years to think about his act of stupidity. And it was indeed stupid to break in and leave bacon. Although it needs to be said that it seems like the punishment simply does not fit the crime. It seems a bit excessive. Though he was actually facing a potential life sentence, so he got off lighter than expected.

There really is no excuse for committing these kinds of crimes. All Americans have the right to free exercise of religion, that includes Muslims. And to be sure, a case can certainly be made that the central beliefs of Islam are controversial and downright dangerous depending on who is doing the interpreting and carrying out of the precepts in the Quran. But nonetheless, those who are peacefully exercising their religious rights must not be subjected to criminal activity or threats.

On the other hand, CAIR is notoriously responsible for covering for Muslim radicals and pretending to be so very sophisticated and concerned. But they tend to downplay the actions of Islamic killers all over the globe, characterizing those who point out Islamic terrorism as “anti-Muslim.” Still, here in the US, all faiths are able to freely practice their religion. So, as long as a mosque is within the law, and not shown to be collaborating with terrorists, it needs to be left alone like any other faith based institution.

Michael Wolfe made some bad decisions. Here in America, we don’t persecute people for their beliefs, whether we agree with them or not. We live and let live until and unless there’s a legal reason to look into them. Mr. Wolfe will be thinking about that for 15 long years.