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Two Men Charged With Civil Rights Violation In Murfreesboro Mosque Vandalism

Investigators say vandals spelled out a message derogatory to Muslims in bacon at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in July
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Two Murfreesboro men have been charged with conspiracy and a civil rights violation for vandalizing a Rutherford County mosque in July.

Charles Dwight Stout III, 19, and Thomas Avery Gibbs, 18, are accused of spray painting the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro and placing bacon around an entrance, a reference to the Muslim prohibition on eating pork.

Investigators say Stout and Gibbs also wore masks during the incident to conceal their identities and that Stout attempted to destroy cell phone pictures of the crime. Also on that phone were anti-Muslim images, as well as pictures of Hitler and Nazi soldiers, according to the FBI.

If convicted, both men face up to a year in prison.

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Chas Sisk, Senior Editor

Chas joined WPLN in 2015 and became an editor in 2018. Previously, he covered state politics for Nashville Public Radio and The Tennessean, and he’s also reported on communities, politics and business for a variety of publications in Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C. Chas grew up in South Carolina and attended Columbia University, where he studied economics and journalism.

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