‘We will not be silenced,’ CA church with BLM sign says after reported arson attempt

A fire set outside a California church with a Black Lives Matter banner hanging outside has sparked an arson investigation, police said.

On Wednesday, someone reported seeing a person setting a trash bin on fire outside The Way Christian Center in Berkeley, according to a press release by the Berkeley Police Department. The suspect was seen standing over the bin and walking away.

Pastor Michael McBride of the church and co-founder of the Black Church PAC said that the Black Lives Matter banner had been hung from the building hours before the incident, CBS San Francisco reported.

“For decades church fires were used as a means of terrorizing Black clergy and the Black community. I guess in Berkeley, it’s not something worthy of special attention by law enforcement officials,” McBride said in a statement. “Regardless of the intentions of the suspect, we will not be silenced or intimidated. Were it not for an alert and courageous neighbor, my entire church could have been burned to the ground.”

McBride also shared photos of the church on Instagram on Thursday.

“We put up a #BlackLivesMatter sign yesterday afternoon ... an arsonist tried to burn our church down after midnight,” McBride wrote. “The devil is busy ... but so are we ... press conference tomorrow at 10:30AM to declare our intentions.”

Berkeley Police Department has asked that anyone with more information about the arson call BPD’s Property Crimes Unit at 510-981-5737.

This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 10:41 AM with the headline "‘We will not be silenced,’ CA church with BLM sign says after reported arson attempt."