President Donald Trump’s campaign condemned the onslaught of anti-Catholic crimes occurring throughout the United States in a Friday statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, accusing “radical leftists” of attempting to destroy the “moral fabric of our nation.”
“The rise in violence against houses of worship, religious symbols, and sacred spaces is quickly becoming an epidemic across the country led by radical leftists hell-bent on destroying the very moral fabric of our nation,” Trump campaign deputy press secretary Ken Farnaso told the DCNF. (RELATED: US Catholics Targeted In Several Separate Incidents Ranging From Vandalism To Attempted Murder)
“These anarchists have been appeased by Joe Biden and the Democrat party who have been giving them a platform for their intolerance and Marxism,” he continued. “President Trump has fought and will fight to preserve our cultural heritage and religious freedom, but it is becoming increasingly clear that in Joe Biden’s America, we won’t be safe.”
Marion County Sheriff’s Office says 24-yo Steven Anthony Shields drove a white minivan into the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala and tried setting it on fire with gas. Shields allegedly told detectives he was on a “mission” and had issues with the church. Mug From MCSO. pic.twitter.com/F84tmGKfEw
— Chris Guardaro (@ChrisWESH2News) July 11, 2020
The Trump campaign weighed in following numerous reports of vandalism at Catholic Churches throughout the United States, as well as one instance in Alberta, Canada.
A 26-year-old man painted swastikas and anti-Catholic language on the gravestones of Dominican friars in a Catholic graveyard in Providence, Rhode Island, and a statue of Jesus was beheaded in Miami on Wednesday.
Virgin Mary statues were vandalized, set on fire, and destroyed in multiple U.S. cities in recent weeks, and a statue of Jesus was spray painted and vandalized in Alberta.
Authorities also arrested 24-year-old Steven Shields after he allegedly crashed his car into the front doors of the Catholic Queen of Peace Catholic Sanctuary, poured gasoline in the foyer, and set it afire while parishioners were still in the church. Shields told authorities after his capture that he was targeting the Catholic Church because of a “mission,” according to News 4 Jax.
Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire at the 250-year-old Catholic mission, San Gabriel Mission, which destroyed the roof and most of the mission’s interior July 11. Authorities will include the recent toppling of a statue of St. Junipero Serra, the founder of the California mission system, during their investigation, KTLA 5 reported.
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