Man pleads guilty to defacing Missouri Islamic center
By Kevin Murphy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - A man who admitted spray-painting graffiti on the exterior walls of an Islamic center in Missouri in 2011 and leaving two burned copies of the Koran outside it pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal civil rights charge, prosecutors said.
Adam David Smock, 23, a former Springfield, Missouri, resident who lives in California was charged with participating in a conspiracy to oppress, threaten and intimidate worshippers at the Islamic Center of Springfield, prosecutors said.
Smock pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Rush under a plea deal in which prosecutors recommended 14 days in jail, followed by five years supervised release, 40 hours of community service and $10,440 restitution, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Smock spray-painted offensive words on the Islamic Center's outer walls in January 2011 with two other persons, including, "You bash us in Pakistan we bash here."
In April 2011, Smock and two others left two partly burned copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, near the center's front doors, and one co-conspirator left a note with remarks that included "Death to Islam," prosecutors said.
It was not clear if the alleged co-conspirators had been charged in the incidents. Smock was released on an appearance bond after the hearing on Tuesday in Springfield. A sentencing date has not been set.
(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by David Bailey and Tom Brown)
