Maryland police arrest 3 in hate crimes against churches
Authorities in Maryland announced Thursday that three persons had been taken into custody and charged with crimes against multiple churches in Anne Arundel County including vandalism and destruction of property.
According to Maryland law, any property damage of a religious entity is considered a hate crime. Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief Katie Roberts told reporters at a press conference on Thursday announcing the arrests, “Let me be very clear: there is no place for hate in our county,” she said adding; “We will not tolerate hateful acts of any kind towards our places of worship or any individuals in this county.” Arrested in separate incidents Roberts said was twin brothers Blake Krenzer, 19, and Brandon Krenzer, 19, and Jarren Alexander, 22.
Roberts noted that the department’s detectives and uniformed officers investigated as many as five incidences of vandalism at four churches in the County.
Alexander is alleged to have caused extensive damage to Fowler United Methodist Church (UMC), a historic Black church in Annapolis, on June 9.
