Pig's Head Rolled into Mosque

(Auburn, Maine) In early July, 33-year-old Brent Matthews rolled a frozen pig's head into a mosque frequented by Somali immigrants. Before the incident he asked a police officer what the criminal penalties would be for such an act. He was told that he'd be guilty only of littering or improperly disposing of animal parts.

Unfortunately for Matthews, his act caused considerable outrage and he may be facing much more serious criminal offenses. He was arrested on a charge of desecrating a house of worship and the FBI is pursuing possible hate crime charges. Meanwhile, the Maine Attorney General's office filed a complaint charging Matthews with civil rights violations.

Matthews' attorney, James Howaniec, says it was all a joke and an act of stupidity. Nevertheless, Matthews faces a year in jail, if convicted, and a possible $5,000 fine from the state's civil lawsuit.

Oddly, although the pig's head story is true, the amount of outrage seems small when compared to the reaction to the phony Qu'ran being flushed down a toilet story or the Mohammad cartoon fiasco. Those latter incidents led to widespread rioting and death.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.