Arizona OKs $5 million to protect faith communities from terror attacks, hate crimes

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

Over the last 18 months, Tucson’s Prince Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church experienced a series of troubling incidents. First up was a stone through one of the church’s stained glass windows. Then a bible and copy of “Harry Potter” were set ablaze and tossed into the window well leading to the building’s basement. Additionally, the church and its neighbor, the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, had their air conditioning units vandalized and copper wire stolen.

The church’s pastor, Rev. Gerald Richard, reported the crimes. As a former prosecutor, he believes in utilizing the criminal justice system, and while he doesn’t know the motivation behind the broken glass and the arson, “I have to take every precaution for my congregation,” he told Jewish News. Using private funds, the church put wire cages around the air conditioning units and set some basic security measures into place.

“There’s more to do. We live in a time of individuals using weapons to get their point across as we can see with so many mass shootings. We will take steps to prevent that with armed security,” Richard said.

While he had to rely on personal money for the initial work, he has reason to hope the state will fund enhanced security measures for his church and others going forward, thanks to the effort of a coalition of religious and nonprofit organizations throughout the state and a bipartisan political process.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a budget into law last month that includes $5 million in funding to secure the state’s small and medium-sized