Man who smashed windows and left bacon at Florida mosque gets 15 years in prison

A Florida man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday 4 December after pleading guilty to vandalising a mosque in January 2016. 37-year-old Michael Wolfe entered a guilty plea to a count of criminal mischief to a place of worship with a hate crime enhancement, the state attorney's office said.

Wolfe was also sentenced as a habitual felony offender. The state attorney's office for the 18th judicial circuit said that the plea deal had been reached after consultation with the Islamic Society of Cenetral Florida Masjid Al-Munin Mosque and Titusville Police Department.

A report from the Associated Press said that Wolfe had smashed windows and lights in the mosque in Titusville with a machete and left bacon at the front door. Islam forbid the cosumption of pork and pork products.

On Tuesday the FBI arrested a man in Florida accused of plotting a mass shooting at a mosque in Jacksonville who reportedly said he wanted to give the worshippers "a taste of their own medicine".

"In October we began an investigation on a tip that someone was planning an attack on an Islamic Center," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said. "A mass shooting was planned." The sheriff's office said they were confident that they had disrupted the plan.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted his thanks to law enforcement for their action, adding: "Religious hate crimes of any kind should never be tolerated". The Islamic Society of Central Florida thanked the FBI for their work capturing the "Right-Wing man" and said it was "yet another example why assault weapons should be banned".