Jackie Rahm Little, 38, has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of arson and one count of damage to religious property. The charges stem from two incidents in April 2023 involving fires set at the Masjid Al-Rahma Mosque in Bloomington and the Masjid Omar Islamic Center in Minneapolis.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, “When someone sets fire to a house of worship, it is not only a federal crime, it is an attack on the heart of a community. Minnesota has endured too many assaults on our sacred spaces. Such hatred and destruction will always be met with federal prosecution as we continue to defend everyone’s right to worship in safety and peace.”
Court documents state that on April 24, 2023, Little entered the Masjid Al-Rahma Mosque carrying gasoline or another ignitable liquid. He used it to ignite a fire in the mosque’s third floor hallway and stairwell. The building was evacuated, including children attending daycare at the time. Damages from this incident exceeded $378,000.
The previous day, Little started a fire inside a bathroom stall at the Masjid Omar Islamic Center by lighting a cardboard box on fire. An employee interrupted him before the fire could spread further; Little fled, leaving behind partially burned cardboard and a gas canister.
Little entered his guilty plea before District Judge Ann D. Montgomery and will be sentenced at a later date.
The FBI led the investigation into these incidents. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead is prosecuting the case.
