A Tennessee man has been charged in federal court with setting fires inside a Catholic church in Knoxville in 2024 while people were present for Mass, according to a report from WBIR 10, an NBC affiliate.
Rodney Guinn Jr., 29, was arraigned Jan. 23 in the U.S. District Court in Knoxville on a federal arson charge stemming from an Aug. 11, 2024, fire at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, according to court records.
The arson occurred on a Sunday, and people were in the sanctuary and arriving for Mass at the time, according to the report.
Federal investigators allege Guinn entered the church through a northeast door shortly before 4 p.m. and set two fires in a basement men’s restroom — one in a trash can and another on the floor of a bathroom stall. Surveillance video later showed smoke coming from an area adjacent to the restroom, authorities said.
Congregants who were inside the church at the time extinguished the fires, and no injuries were reported, according to charging documents.
An FBI investigation found that Guinn later told two people outside the church that he had started the fire. One witness told investigators that Guinn was “happy” with what he had done, according to court records.
Although the fire occurred in 2024, Guinn was not identified as a suspect until last year, after a Tennessee Crime Stoppers flyer led to new information, authorities said.
Guinn, who lived near the church, is being held in the Blount County Jail.
State correctional records show Guinn is currently on probation following prior convictions in Knox County for aggravated statutory rape and aggravated rape.
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