A 26-year-old woman has been arrested after attempting to set Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home on fire in Atlanta.
Laneisha Shantrice Henderson was taken into custody by regional Atlanta authorities on December 7 and charged with criminal attempt arson and criminal attempt interference with federal property, according to WSB-TV
According to witness Zach Kempf, Henderson was seen pouring gasoline on the shrubs near the home and attempting to enter the house by pulling on the screen door.
Video footage obtained by the New York Times shows Henderson on the front patio of the Martin Luther King Jr. home with a large gas container, pouring fuel onto the windows and surrounding bushes.
Kempf said he stopped Henderson from re-entering the patio with a lighter and called 911, and she was subsequently apprehended by off-duty NYPD officers.
“The action saved a crucial part of American history tonight,” said APD Chief Darin Schierbaum.
According to the New York Times, Henderson’s family revealed that she suffers from a mental illness and tracked her to the scene using her phone location signal.
BREAKING UPDATE: Woman charged with putting gas, attempting to burn down Martin Luther King Jr.’s Atlanta birth home, according to authorities.
Here’s what we understand: https://t.co/4jdq6B3r8l pic.twitter.com/x7JpHQNAzK
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) December 8, 2023
Martin Luther King Jr.’s home is a two-story Queen Anne-style home dating back to 1895. The civil rights activist lived in the home for the first 12 years of his life and it is now a federal landmark and part of Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue Historic District.
Authorities are still investigating the attempted arson.
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