A 45-year-old Boston man was arrested after he allegedly attempted to set fire to the Satanic Temple in Salem late Friday night, police and an official at the temple said.
Daniel Lucey faces charges of arson, interfering with civil rights, and vandalism to a place of worship, Salem police Lieutenant Dennis Gaudet said.
Lucien Greaves, the temple’s co-founder, posted on Twitter what appeared to be security camera images of a man wearing a gray T-shirt emblazoned with the word “GOD,” who Greaves said was spreading accelerant on the porch of the temple in the photos, which also showed flames in two areas of the porch.
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Greaves did not respond to an interview request late Friday night.
The fire was called in at 10:49 p.m., “before it was able to fully engulf” the temple, Gaudet said.
The damage to the temple was “not insignificant,” Greaves said on Twitter. “It went up fast.”
This holy crusader in a "GOD" tshirt just dumped an accelerant on The Satanic Temple headquarters and lit it on fire. If you have any information, immediately contact @SalemMAPolice 978-744-1212 pic.twitter.com/PgoULGiKuN
— Lucien Greaves (@LucienGreaves) June 11, 2022
Alexander Thompson can be reached at alexander.thompson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlMThompson