A Rhode Island man, Kevin Colantonio, has been sentenced to over six years in federal prison for setting multiple fires around the exterior of a predominantly black church and assaulting federal officers. The sentence was delivered by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., who imposed 78 months of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release.
Colantonio, 36, admitted to using gasoline and a lighter to ignite five fires at Shiloh Gospel Temple Ministries on February 11, 2024. The North Providence police quickly extinguished the fires but not before causing damage that temporarily halted church services.
Prior to the incident, the pastor had reported an attempted break-in captured on the church’s Ring camera. The pastor identified Colantonio as the suspect who tried to enter and later damaged the camera.
Following his arrest, Colantonio sent a message dismissing community concern over the arson and derogatorily referred to the church members. A search of his residence revealed clothing linked to the arson and notebooks with inflammatory writings targeting churches and non-white individuals.
Colantonio also confessed to assaulting two federal correctional officers while detained at Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility by throwing bodily waste at them.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter I. Roklan and Taylor Payne from the Civil Rights Division. Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced this development alongside representatives from several investigative agencies including ATF and local law enforcement.
