Virginia teen pleads guilty to setting black church on fire | theGrio: On Tuesday morning a Virginia teen admitted in court to setting a church on fire that was home to a predominantly black congregation, according to WDBJ.
Jean-Claude Bridges, 18, pleaded guilty to starting a fire at the New Holy Deliverance Outreach Ministry in Axton, Virginia last May.
Bridges was 17 at the time of the incident and said that he and another male, 16, were responsible for the fire that happened on May 20 at 1:20 a.m.
According to a recent release by the Martinsville Bulletin, U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said that Bridges admitted that ”he burned down the church because of the race, color and ethnicity of its congregation. Mr. Bridges’ racial bias led him to commit the dangerous crime of arson.”
