WIGGINS, Mississippi – Stefan Day Rowold, 37, of Wiggins, has been handed a 30-year sentence for torching the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and vandalizing it with hate messages. The federal judge in the Southern District of Mississippi sentenced Rowold after he was found guilty of six counts of federal arson and civil rights charges following a trial in September 2025.
Rowold’s spree began on July 5, 2024, when he broke into the church and set a fire that gutted part of the building. He returned two days later, after police secured the scene, to ignite another blaze inside the church. His actions left the congregation without a place to worship for months. The court awarded $176,564 in restitution to the church.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division emphasized the severity of Rowold’s crimes: “Anyone who attacks a house of worship in America will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The FBI Jackson Field Office led the investigation with assistance from various local and federal agencies.
Rowold confessed to police that his motive was based on animosity toward the church’s religious views. He used hymnals, paintings, and other religious items as fuel for the fires. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner and Trial Attorney Chloe Neely prosecuted the case.
The grim incident has left the community of Wiggins reeling. Rowold will spend the next three decades behind bars for his hate-fueled crime against a place of worship.”}
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Press Release ↗
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