Man sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison for setting fire to 2 Twin Cities mosques

A judge sentenced a 38-year-old man to nearly six years in prison for intentionally starting fires inside two Twin Cities mosques nearly three years ago.

According to court documents, Jackie Rahm Little was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay more than $378,000 in restitution.

Little pleaded guilty to one count each of arson and damage to religious property for setting fire to the Masjid Al-Rahma Mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the Masjid Omar Islamic Center in Minneapolis in April 2023.

Charges say survelliance video from Masjid Al-Rahma shows Little walking into the building with a bag that contained a plastic gas container. Soon after, a mosque employee discovered the fire, with a melted gas container as its source, in a hallway on the building's top floor. 

Police got surveillance video from a gas station close by that shows Little, after setting the fire at Masjid Al Rahma, buying a gas can and filling it.

The day before, Little set a fire about a half-mile away inside a bathroom at the Masjid Omar Islamic Center. 

Note: The video above originally aired on April 30, 2023.