U.S. Attorney’s Office breaks down arrest of suspect in church arson case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The United States Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island held a press conference Thursday breaking down the investigation and arrest of Kevin Colantonio in connection with an arson at the Shiloh Gospel Temple in North Providence.

It is alleged that Colantonio set several fires around the exterior of Shiloh Gospel Temple around midnight on Feb. 11.

“Officers observed that there were two doors that had flames coming out from the bottom of the doorframe and a window that appeared to be broken and had flames on the inside of the window climbing up the curtains,” Chief Alfredo Ruggiero said.  “The fire was extinguished very quickly, and the investigation was underway.”

The church has a predominantly black congregation, causing advocates to ask for the incident to be investigated as a possible hate crime.

“A number of items of evidence were recovered during the court-authorized search, including notebooks and writings that, as the government alleged and referenced in the course of court proceedings today, included phrases like ‘burn churches down to the ground; hunt them down, gun everyone down who isn’t white’ and other phrases expressing animus towards racial and religious groups,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said.

One witness quoted in the affidavit said the suspect bought 10 dollars of gasoline and a lighter.

The affidavit also quoted the pastor of the church which said he spoke with the suspect through a ring camera, “telling him, among other things, that this was a church; the male subject continued trying to break in the door, and then broke the ring camera off the side of the building.”

Colantonio was arraigned Thursday, and Cunha said additional charges may be on the way.