Man charged with hate crime over fire set at Cape Girardeau mosque

(AP) Prosecutors have charged a 42-year-old man accused of setting fire to a Missouri mosque last week with a hate crime and other counts. Nicholas Proffitt, who spent time in prison for defacing the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau more than a decade ago, was due to appear in federal court Thursday for an initial appearance on a charge of maliciously damaging a building by means of fire in last week’s attack. Proffitt was charged Tuesday with three state counts stemming from the fire, including first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination, which is a hate crime. The fire was discovered shortly before 5 a.m. on April 24, at the outset of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.