Renton Man Threatened Seattle Mosque Worshipers: Charges

SEATTLE, WA — A 62-year-old Renton man is facing a hate crime charge for harassing worshipers at the Masjid Al-Furqan mosque in Seattle this month, according to charging documents. Prosecutors say the man has a history of harassing people at the mosque.

The incident happened on May 22 when Andre L. Sterling went inside the mosque along 18th Avenue Southwest and began to get "aggressive" with people inside, according to a police report. Sterling then started shouting swears and told the worshipers that he worked for the Department of Homeland Security as a military intelligence officer.

When Sterling left the mosque, two worshipers followed him outside, filming Sterling on their cell phones, charging documents say. Sterling then got out of his car and grabbed a wooden bat from the back seat. He continued to yell, charging documents say, telling the two men, "I've got some banditos on my side b--ch."

Sterling eventually got into his car and left, but not before threatening to return to the mosque later that night, charging documents allege. He was found by a Seattle police officer parked near the mosque. He told the officer he was defending himself against "radical Islams," a police report says.

Sterling had visited the mosque previously after the deadly April shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California. During that visit, he had an aggressive discussion with two people at the mosque.

"Sterling had a Bible in one hand and the Koran in the other. They had a discussion about religion and Sterling seemed agitated to the point where he threw the Bible on the ground and stomped on it," a police report says.

Sterling is being held at the King County Jail in Seattle on $20,000 bail and is facing a malicious harassment charge.