At Mosque, Blumenthal Dials Up ​“Terror,” Then Walks It Back

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal Friday leaped ahead of investigators and called a suspected arson at New Haven’s Diyanet Mosque ​“an act of terrorism,” then walked the statement back.

The state’s senior senator jumped to that conclusion at a Friday morning press conference in front of the Middletown Avenue mosque, where he was joined by Mayor Toni Harp and Turkish Consular General Ceylan Ozen Erisen. The press conference concerned the fire that damaged the mosque last Sunday, which officials said was intentionally set. They have not yet concluded who set the fire or why.

Elected officials often issue public calls for action and toughened security following attacks on houses of worship. Friday was no exception.

“To whoever set fire to this mosque, you deserve the full weight of criminal law and the punishment of whatever condemnation this community can bring to you, because this act of wanton, intentional destruction is truly despicable and cowardly,” Blumenthal said.

“Whatever your motive, the effect was to devastate this sacred place of worship at a critical time for the 350 parishioners, but more broadly for anyone who cares about the free exercise of religion.

“The effect, if not the intention, was to strike terror. It was an act of terrorism,” Blumenthal went on. ​“Whatever the motive or intent — and the investigation is ongoing, as to what exactly the means and motive were — this act of terrorism must be punished.”

“Domestic terrorism,” as defined by the federal Patriot Act passed in 2001, includes any criminal act that endangers human life, if it appears to be intended to ​“intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government … or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.”

The city’s public safety officials haven’t reached that conclusion, at least not yet. New Haven’s Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said he has evidence that the fire was set intentionally, but the rest of the investigation is still underway. The night before the mosque fire, another intentionally set fire damaged a trailer for sale parked a few blocks away across the North Haven line.

When the Independent asked Blumenthal whether authorities are investigating the suspected arson as an act of domestic terrorism, as he had suggested, he turned to New Haven’s Interim Police Chief Otoniel Reyes for an answer.

“We’re not ruling out any motive. We are turning every stone,” Reyes said. ​“But at this point, we’re not going to discuss what the direction of the investigation is.”

Asked by other reporters after the press conference about why he’d called it an ​“act of terrorism,” Blumenthal walked back the statement. He said that the suspected arson had created fear, even if it’s still that’s what the act was meant to do.

“The effect was to strike terror,” Blumenthal said.

The senator also said that he plans to ask the federal government to double the funding that it currently makes available to houses of worship for security upgrades, like alarm systems, armored doors and tougher locks, up to $25 million, which even then he said would be ​“inadequate.”

He compared the investment to the hardening of schools, which has grown to a $2.7 billion market after the 2012 mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

The effectiveness of those measures has been called into quesiton. Last fall, the Washington Post’s John Woodrow Cox and Steven Rich asked 34 schools that experienced gun violence what could have prevented the shooting. Only one administrator told the reporters that technology would have made a difference.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Blumenthal said. ​“Many of these places of worship have no effective” security systems.

Locally, Fire Chief Alston said he is providing houses of worship with guidelines for keeping their congregations safe. He’s asking them, for instance, to make sure their smoke detectors are turned back on after using incense, that someone stays for a half-hour after candles are all put out, and that security cameras and lights are working. He’s also encouraging them to call the cops if they notice any suspicious activity.