Bartlet for America
Leo faces a Congressional inquiry into what he knew about Bartlet's multiple sclerosis, risking public disclosure of the time he fell off the wagon right before a televised debate during the campaign. Josh deals with an FBI agent on the investigation of church burnings (1) in Tennessee, while Bartlet considers authorizing the national guard to protect churches on Christmas Eve.
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Church arsons (last updated January 23, 2002)
A sharp rise in arson incidents at churches, particularly African-American ones, in 1996 led to the creation of the National Church Arson Task Force (NCATF) and the passing of the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996, which increased penalties for the intentional destruction of religious property and guaranteed loans for the repair of churches damaged by arson or terrorism.
There were 297 arson and bombing incidents at churches across the United States in 1996, with 120 of them at African-American churches, 87 of them in the South. The year before, there had been 52 incidents total, with 25 at African-American churches, 24 in the South. The following graph charts the number of incidents per month, as reported by the NCATF in its September 2000 report.
According to the NCATF, "because of its prominence in the African American community, the church has historically been a target of arson and destruction by bigots and white supremacists. The 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young African American girls lost their lives, may be the most infamous example, but there were countless other churches burned, bombed or destroyed throughout U.S. history. These atrocious crimes were often committed to send a message of intimidation and intolerance."
From 1996 to August 2000, the NCATF has investigated 945 arsons or bombings, made 431 arrests, and secured 305 convictions in connection with 224 incidents.
One major investigation involved Jay Scott Ballinger, who pled guilty to setting 26 churches on fire in eight states between 1994 and 1999, though not any of the incidents in early- and mid-1996 that caught the nation's attention. Ballinger, who reportedly "expressed his hostility towards organized Christianity, signed individuals he met to contracts with the devil, and termed himself a Missionary of Lucifer and a Saint of Hades," was sentenced in November 2000 to more than 42 years of imprisonment, and at that time still faced charges for setting five churches in Georgia, including one in which a firefighter was killed while fighting the fire.
Sources: National Church Arson Task Force, on-line here. National Church Arson Task Force, Fourth Year Report to the President (September 2000), available via the NCATF site. Department of Justice press release, Indiana man sentenced to over 42 years for setting 26 churches ablaze, available here.
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By Stephen Lee
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