RAEFORD, N.C. -- The Hoke County Sheriff's Office is investigating possible hate crimes at a Raeford mosque.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a man, Russell Thomas Langford, was arrested and charged with communicating threats after a series of incidents Thursday targeting Masjid al-Madina. They include leaving a bag filled with bacon at the entrance of the mosque, threatening a Muslim chaplain at Fort Bragg, following a member of the Mosque by vehicle and saying he was going to blow up the mosque.
The council says Langford also attempted to run over a group of people entering the mosque for the Ramadan evening prayer, and it is asking authorities to step up patrols in the area.
In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:
"We call on state law enforcement authorities and the FBI to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime. We also ask local police to step up patrols in the area of this and other North Carolina mosques, particularly during the nightly activities associated with the ongoing fast of Ramadan."