PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine authorities say a fire at a Portland church is potentially arson, which church officials believe could have been racially motivated.
The Portland Press Herald reports that investigators said the fire began early Sunday. No one was injured during the fire and the damage to the church was contained to the front of the building.
According to the church's pastor, Lorraine Kardash, the fire was located in an area where a Black Lives Matter sign had been hanging for a year.
Kardash said investigators told her they believe the fire was intentionally set and that they found the sign in bushes near the church.