Scorch marks found outside the Jewish Museum of Maryland on Aug. 5, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

Baltimore police announced on Saturday that they arrested a man who is suspected of a hate crime for setting a fire outside the Jewish Museum of Maryland earlier this month.

Police said the suspect, 66-year-old Assadollah Hashemi, has a history of fire-related crimes. Baltimore Police Department SWAT officers arrested Hashemi at his apartment on Saturday and took him into custody without incident

Hashemi was charged with attempted arson and attempted malicious burning for setting a fire at the front gate of the Jewish Museum of Maryland late at night on Aug. 4. Surveillance camera footage showed a person pull up to the museum in a vehicle, put something on the ground outside the museum’s gate, set the item on fire, and then leave in the vehicle. The museum said Baltimore Fire Department personnel arrived 20 minutes later and extinguished the fire. Local and federal authorities have joined forces to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime.

Hashemi’s neighbors in the apartment building where he lives told WBAL-TV 11 that he was allegedly involved in at least two fire-related incidents inside their building. During his court hearing in Baltimore on Monday, it was revealed that Hashemi has a history of bipolar disorder and has refused mental treatment, according to the Baltimore news outlet. The court also heard that he was responsible for setting a garbage container on fire on July 24. Questioning his competence to stand trial, the judge ordered a medical evaluation of Hashemi by a doctor and denied bail for the suspect, pending results of the evaluation.

The Jewish Museum of Maryland has been closed for the past year due to renovations, but the museum’s executive director, Dr. Sol Davis, said last week that construction on the museum is near completion. Commenting on the “unsettling” arson attack and the nearing of the museum’s reopening, David said: “As we move through this moment, we prepare to reopen the museum’s doors in the coming months with an abundance of Jewish joy, ritual, reflection, art, history, and connection.”

The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located between two historic synagogues on Baltimore’s Lloyd Street: the Lloyd Street Synagogue and the B’nai Israel Congregation. The latter is the only remaining active synagogue in the East Baltimore/downtown area. The fire on Aug. 4 was set outside the museum but also right next to the B’nai Israel Synagogue, which reportedly shares a security gate to the south of the museum.