Indictment specifies hate crime
A Far West Side man accused of writing anti-Muslim comments on a Perry Township mosque last month has been charged with a hate crime.
A grand jury indicted Todd M. Williams, 44, on charges of desecrating a place of worship, ethnic intimidation
and criminal mischief for allegedly vandalizing the Ahlul-Bayt Society Islamic Center, 2580 W. Dublin-Granville Road, on Feb. 11, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said at a news conference Thursday.
O’Brien said Williams was captured by a security video at the mosque writing “Allah Is A Fraud Dum Dum” and “Repent Turn To True God + Jesus Or Burn 4 Ever” on the glass doors at the mosque’s entrance.
The desecration charge is a fifth-degree felony and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail. The ethnic-intimidation charge, which qualified the offense as a hate crime, carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail. The maximum for criminal mischief is 30 days in jail.
In an interview with WBNS (Channel 10) outside of his Far West Side home, Williams admitted that he spraypainted the mosque and acknowledged he will have to pay a penalty, but he said his actions were not driven by hate.
“It’s not hate. I care about their soul. I want to turn them to the true God,” Williams said. He added that he absolutely “would apologize to them because I feel bad — I should have talked to them and not write (sic) on there.”
The mosque case was investigated by Perry Township police and the FBI. U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman was at Thursday’s news conference.
Since the specific hate crime in this case, ethnic intimidation, is a misdemeanor, the case can be heard quicker and the penalty is harsher in a state court, O’Brien and Glassman said. If something more serious had occurred, such as had the mosque been set on fire, federal law would have provided for a tougher penalty.
“Law enforcement on all levels of government are united against this kind of conduct,” O’Brien said.
Perry Township police detective Rick Amweg said Williams does not have a criminal record. He cooperated with police but gave no motive when he was interviewed, Amweg said. He said there was no evidence Williams was a member of a hate group.
Amweg said police traced the license plate of a car seen in the security video to Williams.
Despite the fact that the car was scrawled with pro-Donald Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton graffiti, O’Brien said he couldn’t directly attribute this offense to last year’s heated presidential campaign.
“We’ve had these before and after last year’s election,” O’Brien said. “They’ve been increasing since 9/11.”
Romin Iqbal of the Columbus chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations said the group was pleased with the quick investigation and the charges brought in the case.
“We appreciate the work of Perry Township and the FBI,” he said, emphasizing that Williams has only been accused of the crime.
Williams, who is unemployed, was given a summons to appear in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on April 20 for arraignment. He could not be reached for comment.