MISSOURI
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced thirty-two-year-old Jedediah Stout, of Joplin, Missouri, to five years and three months in prison for the arson of a Joplin mosque and two attempted arsons of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Joplin, officials announced.
Stout plead guilty to a four-count information that charges him with one count of damage to the Islamic Society of Joplin mosque in 2012, two counts of arson at a Planned Parenthood facility in Joplin and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, officials said.
“No American should fear being the victim of violence simply for exercising their constitutional rights,” said U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson. “When hate and intolerance lead to criminal attacks, we will protect our citizens and defend their civil rights.”
The mosque served families from neighboring states, many of whom provided funding for the operation of the mosque. As a direct result of the fire, many donations made during the Muslim holy period of Ramadan were destroyed.
Stout admitted that he committed the mosque arson using the same kind of incendiary device he later used in two Planned Parenthood arson attempts, according to authorities.
On Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, 2013, Stout was captured on surveillance cameras as he made consecutive attempts to set fire to the Planned Parenthood facility in Joplin.
In both instances, he threw items containing an accelerant onto the roof of the facility and then ignited material attached to the accelerant. Stout was apprehended soon after the Planned Parenthood arson attempts, officials said.
He admitted to investigators that he was responsible for both Planned Parenthood arson attempts and for the mosque arson.
Stout further admitted that he targeted Planned Parenthood because they provide reproductive health care services.