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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 7, 2002
BOCA RATON -- A man caught setting fire to a sign for a new mosque said he wanted to send a message that Muslims "are not liked here," police said.
George Aboujawdeh, 45, was arrested and charged Wednesday with criminal mischief after undercover police watched the sign being set ablaze. Because of earlier vandalism of the sign, police had staked out the empty lot, future site of the Assalam Center mosque.
Police said they saw Aboujawdeh douse the sign with lighter fluid, and it burst into flames as he walked away. He ran when police yelled at him, but was caught.
The sign survived, with heavy scorch marks.
Police said Aboujawdeh told them he set the blaze because he wanted to "send them a message they're not liked here." Groundbreaking is set for the Muslim worship center next month.
The State Attorney's Office said it would decide within two weeks whether to enhance the criminal mischief charge, a first-degree misdemeanor, to a hate crime, a third-degree felony. That means Aboujawdeh could face up to five years in prison.
He was jailed pending court hearings.
The sign, which pictures the planned new building and Arabic writing, was marred with an ax and burned in the earlier incidents, both in the past six months.
Boca Raton police said they were still trying to connect Aboujawdeh, a Catholic from Lebanon who owns a construction company, to the previous incidents.