A 23-year-old man was arrested late Friday and is charged with a hate crime in connection with a mosque fire in Southern California that authorities said was set intentionally.
According to Riverside County jail records, Carl James Dial, of Palm Desert, was arrested along Country Club Drive shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, December 11, in connection with the suspected arson-hate crime at the Coachella Valley’s only mosque, 84-650 Avenue 49.
He has been charged with five felonies, including arson and commission of a hate crime.
He is being detained at the Riverside County Jail in Indio on suspicion of committing multiple felony offenses including: commission of a hate crime, two counts of arson, one count of maliciously setting a fire, and a count of second-degree burglary.
Dial remained jailed Saturday night in lieu of $150,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Wednesday, December 16, according to jail records.
His arrest was a comfort to many of the mosque members who gathered outside the mosque to pay their respects and lend a hand with clean-up efforts.
It is one of many similar incidents that officials say have been occurring at mosques around the country in response to the San Bernardino shootings, which authorities have said were committed by radicalized followers of an Islamic State group.