Arrest Made In Salem Satanic Temple Arson: Police

SALEM, MA — A 42-year-old Chelsea man told Salem police that he traveled to Salem to commit a "hate crime" by setting fire to the front porch of the Satanic Temple Friday night, according to a police statement Saturday morning.

Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said in the news release that an investigation determined that Daniel Damien Lucey, 42, deliberately set the fire Friday night by pouring flammable liquid on the porch and igniting it with a cigarette.

Police said Lucey remained at the scene and was arrested without incident.

"When interviewed, Lucey admitted to traveling to Salem for the express purpose of setting fire to the Temple," Miller said. "Lucey made statements that he considered his actions a 'hate crime.'"

Lucey was charged with arson, civil rights violations and destruction of a place of worship.

Police said crews responded to the Bridge Street temple Friday night at about 10 and found the front porch on fire. Officers were unable to extinguish the flames and Salem fire crews soon arrived and contained the blaze.

The building was evacuated and sustained damage to the front porch. There were no injuries.

"I am enormously grateful for the quick and professional response by the Salem police and fire departments to last night's criminal arson attempt and share our community's relief that no one was hurt in this awful incident," Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said on Saturday. "On behalf of the city of Salem, we condemn this hateful attack.

"Salem is a welcoming place, and the actions of this individual are not reflective of who we are or our values as a community."

The Satanic Temple said Saturday that the temple and art gallery will be temporarily closed because of the fire damage.

"Thank you for the outpouring of support," the Satanic Temple posted on its Facebook page. "Everyone is safe and will be fine."

The Satanic Temple lists its mission statement as: "To encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practice common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)