A Man Arrested After Attempt to Blow Up Latter-day Saint Missionaries’ Car

Man Arrested After Attempt to Blow Up Latter-day Saint Missionaries’ Car. After admitting to setting a car used by missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on fire because he “disliked the Mormon faith,” a Connecticut man was charged with a crime.

Early Monday, a witness getting ready for work noticed Samuel Vandeusen, 22, placing a lit rag in the gas tank of the missionaries’ 2022 Chevy Equinox. Vandeusen admitted to wanting to blow up the car because he despised missionaries proselytizing and attempting to convert people in the area when police arrived. It was a “crime of passion,” according to Vandeusen.

Arson, breach of peace, criminal mischief, and deprivation of rights were all charges against Vandeusen. In Connecticut, deprivation of rights is considered a hate crime.

The missionaries have not been identified, but no one was harmed during the incident. Police reports identified that the car belonged to the Church. There is currently one mission in the state, the Massachusetts Boston Mission. Approximately 15,625 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live in Massachusetts, comprising three stakes and 37 congregations.

Vandeusen was held on a $250,000 bond Monday and scheduled to appear in court. No new information on the case has been released.