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MINNEAPOLIS: A man who set fires at two mosques in Minnesota in 2023 pleaded guilty to federal charges Wednesday, federal prosecutors said.
Jackie Rahm Little, 38, admitted to one count of arson and one count of damage to religious property for the fires at the Masjid Al-Rahma Mosque in Bloomington and the Masjid Omar Islamic Center in Minneapolis. A sentencing date has not been set.
Court records show that Little had a history of mental illness, arson or suspected arson and domestic violence.
“When someone sets fire to a house of worship, it is not only a federal crime, it is an attack on the heart of a community,” Acting US Attorney Joe Thompson said in a statement. “Minnesota has endured too many assaults on our sacred spaces.”
The fire that Little started at the Bloomington mosque on April 24, 2023, forced the evacuation of children who were attending day care and caused more than $378,000 in damage. He also lit a cardboard box on fire the day before in a restroom at the Minneapolis mosque, but was interrupted by an employee before the fire could spread.
Leaders said the fires shocked the local Islamic community and saw them as part of a larger trend of increased attacks on mosques and Muslim institutions across the state and country.
“These violent attacks were meant to instill fear, but instead they have strengthened our community’s resolve,” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. He was at the Bloomington mosque when the fire started there and helped evacuate the children.

NORTH CODORUS, Pennsylvania: At least two people were seriously injured in a shooting involving police in the southern part of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, and Gov. Josh Shapiro was rushing to the scene, officials said.
An investigation is occurring in the area of North Codorus Township, about 115 miles (185 km) west of Philadelphia, not far from the Maryland line, authorities said.
York Hospital said it was treating two people in serious condition related to a police incident in northern York County. The hospital said enhanced security protocols are in place.
“Please send prayers to the officers and those involved in the shooting in York County,” Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said in a social media post.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said he is also heading to the scene. Sunday said on social media he urges “all residents to follow the instructions of local law enforcement” and he is “praying for all involved.”
A local school district issued a shelter-in-place order, though it said schools and students were not involved in the shooting. The order was lifted later in the afternoon. The district said in a statement that authorities “advised us to hold students and staff in our buildings as a precaution while several area roads are closed.”
The medical response unfolded on a rural road in south-central Pennsylvania that winds through an agricultural area with a red barn and farm fields.
The Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia said in a social media post that they were “monitoring the incident” in Pennsylvania and advised Mexican residents nearby to follow official instructions. A spokesperson for the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia said the post was “only a precautionary alert for our community.
Police have not provided any details about who was involved in the shooting.
“Pennsylvania State Police, Northern Regional Police and numerous emergency responders are at the scene. The York County Commissioners are monitoring the situation closely and praying for all those involved,” the county said in a statement.