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On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, authorities in Jackson, Mississippi, arrested 23-year-old Delvin McLaurin for allegedly setting fire to seven buildings near the Jackson State University Campus.
According to The Guardian, of the seven buildings Delvin McLaurin was accused of setting fire to, two were Churches. The spate of arson attacks began at approximately 2:45 am local time. Fox reported that by 6 am, firefighters had managed to contain six of the seven fires.
The Hinds County Sheriff's Office reported that Delvin McLaurin has been arrested in connection with the fires. The suspects' motivations remain unknown. While the attacks took place on the day of the midterm elections, the Jackson Fire Department said they have no reason to believe that the crime was politically motivated.
What are Delvin Mclaurin's alleged motivations behind his "cowardly actions"?
Fox reported that Shuwaski Young, a politician and a former Democratic candidate for Mississippi's Third Congressional District, claimed that Delvin McLaurin's alleged arson spree was carried out to suppress votes in the area.
Young said:
"This morning several churches were burned in Jackson, Mississippi, on Election Day. These cowardly actions invoke historical acts of terrorism when people are fighting for their right to vote and live peacefully as Americans and Missisippians."
He further continued:
"We will not be deterred and will not be intimidated. We will not allow domestic terrorists to suppress our right to vote. I ask all Mississippians to GO VOTE regardless of this decades old intimidation tactic to suppress our votes today. Just Go VOTE."
Patrick Armon, assistant chief of the Jackson Fire Department, said that he believed it was a coincidence that the attacks took place on election day. He added:
“We may find out it was something connected to that, but my first inclination is this has nothing to do with election. This … just coincidentally happened close to election day.”
However, Armon noted the significance of the attacks, commenting:
"I’ve been here for 30 years. This is a major occurrence. This is not something we normally go to. We have about a third of our department on sites."
Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the Mayor of Jackson, confirmed in a press release that polling was not affected by the attacks Delvin Mclaurin supposedly carried out. He said:
"We don’t yet know who or why, but I want to thank the firefighters because they were able to respond to that and still get back to the stations, so that people could set up for voting precincts."
The Guardian reported that since Jackson State University is known as a black campus, speculations regarding whether or not McLaurin may be charged with a hate crime have been discussed among local authorities. However, it has been noted that he is black himself, which is why racism has not been identified as a primary motive.
At the time of this writing, the case currently remains under investigation.
