Texas man gets 24 years in prison for burning down mosque

Marq Vincent Perez, 26, was sentenced to 24 years and six months in prison, for burning down a mosque in Victoria, Texas. The Victoria Islamic Center was destroyed on January 28, 2017. Prosecutors said Perez was driven by “rabid hatred” of Muslims. He was convicted by a jury in July of federal arson, explosives and hate crimes charges, for which he could have faced as much as 40 years in federal prison. Testimony from his accomplice, a 17-year-old identified only as K.R., was crucial to the conviction, local media reported.