Golden, 24, previously admitted to the court that he constructed Molotov cocktail explosive devices, ignited them and used them to destroy the mosque on Feb. 9, 2008. He further admitted that while he burned down the mosque, a co-defendant painted swastikas and the phrase “White Power” on the building’s walls. The other two defendants, Jonathan Edward Stone and Eric Ian Baker, previously pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in December.

“The right to worship without fear of this kind of violent interference is among our most fundamental civil rights,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We will aggressively prosecute anyone who seeks to intimidate or injure any congregation because of what they believe, how they worship or who they are.”

“This type of crime strikes at the heart of our civil rights and religious freedoms in America. I am very pleased that through local, state and federal cooperation all defendants responsible for this vile attack have been brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Edward M. Yarbrough for the Middle District of Tennessee.

“Every Muslim who saw the news photos with the Swastika painted on the burned out Islamic center was victimized by this attack. Today, they can clearly see that American law enforcement stands strongly with them to guarantee their freedoms to worship and assemble,” said ATF Nashville Field Division Special Agent in Charge James M. Cavanaugh.

“The FBI is committed to protecting the civil rights of all people through the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes,” said FBI Memphis Division Special Agent in Charge My Harrison. “The destruction of any place of worship will not be ignored and the FBI will make every effort to bring those who commit such heinous acts to justice.”

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Tennessee State Bomb and Arson, and the Columbia, Tenn., Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal McDonough from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville and Trial Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti from the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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Jose Alfaro, a.k.a. Liche, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell of the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville. Judge Campbell also ordered Alfaro to serve three years of supervised release.

At his plea hearing on Sept. 25, 2007, Alfaro admitted that he and others involved in the MS-13 gang conspired to participate in a pattern of racketeering activity in the Nashville metropolitan area, which included murder and attempted murder. In addition, Alfaro admitted that on April 12, 2006, he and three other MS-13 gang members fired handguns at a rival gang member and his girlfriend. The rival gang member was struck several times and sustained permanent physical injuries. Alfaro also admitted that on May 21, 2006, he and other MS-13 gang members fired a handgun at an individual who was suspected of being a member of the rival street gang Brown Pride. The victim was struck and wounded in the arm. Finally, Alfaro admitted that on May 22, 2006, he and other MS-13 gang members fired a handgun at an individual they suspected was a confidential informant who had previously provided information about MS-13 activities in Maryland to federal law enforcement authorities.

Alfaro is the third defendant to be sentenced on RICO charges stemming from an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Nashville on Jan. 10, 2007. That indictment charges 14 members of MS-13 with conspiring to participate in the affairs of a racketeering enterprise and related charges including murder, attempted murder, assault, weapons charges, and obstruction of justice. Trial for the remaining defendants is currently scheduled for April 8, 2008.

The MS-13 street gang is a violent international criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador. The purpose of the racketeering enterprise was to preserve and protect the power, territory and profits of the MS-13 enterprise through violent assault, murder, threats of violence, and intimidation.

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