WIGGINS, Miss. —
A Mississippi man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for vandalizing and setting fire to a church he targeted because of its religious beliefs, federal prosecutors stated Tuesday.
Stefan Day Rowold, 37, of Wiggins, was sentenced Monday to 360 months in prison after a jury in Mississippi convicted him in September 2025 on six counts, including federal arson and civil rights violations.
Evidence at trial showed that Rowold twice broke into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wiggins, vandalizing the building and setting fires on July 5 and July 7, 2024. Prosecutors said Rowold targeted the church because of animosity toward what he believed were its religious views.
According to officials, Rowold told police he spray-painted hateful messages on interior walls and ignited a fire in a multipurpose room using hymnals, paintings, and other religious items as kindling.
After learning that the first fire failed to destroy the building, Rowold returned two days later — after authorities had attempted to secure the scene — and set a second fire against an interior wall, investigators said.
The damage forced the congregation to suspend services at the building for several months.
At sentencing, the court ordered Rowold to pay $176,564 in restitution to the church, officials stated.