Radical cleric: Terry Jones arrested on felony charge
Jones was planning to burn the holy books in the back of his pickup truck. PHOTO: AFP
Anti-Islam pastor Terry Jones was arrested on a felony charge in Florida on Wednesday, police said, after announcing plans to burn nearly 3,000 copies of the Holy Quran.
Jones was planning to burn the holy books in the back of his pickup truck to a park in Mulberry, Florida, according to follower Stephanie Sapp, whose husband, Marvin Wayne Sapp, Jr, was also arrested.
Jones and Sapp, Jr, were each charged with unlawful conveyance of fuel, a felony, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. Jones was also charged with a misdemeanor of openly carrying a firearm.
Sapp said she and her husband, Jones, and four others drove to Mulberry in three vehicles. They made a stop near the park at a fast food restaurant.
When the group drove back on the road, several unmarked cars pulled them over, she said. Jones and her husband were taken into custody.
She said Jones’s group brought 2,998 copies of The Quran, one for each of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. She said that in burning the holy books, they sought to raise awareness of “the dangers of Islam.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2013.