Fire that destroyed historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say

cbs ^ | 5-21-25 | Kiki Intarasuwan

[dynachrome]

U.S. Fire that destroyed historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say By Updated on: May 21, 2025 / 6:11 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The fire that destroyed the Clayborn Temple, a historic Black church in downtown Memphis that was the organizing point for Martin Luther King Jr.'s final campaign in 1968, was intentionally set, investigators said Wednesday.

The Memphis Fire Department said the fire on April 28 was started on the interior of the church, and authorities are searching for a person of interest. Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat last month described the inside of the church as "a total loss."

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: antifa; blm; clayborntemple; domesticterrorism; domesticterrorists; fire; godsgravesglyphs; historicchurch; memphis; tennessee

[dynachrome]

See BS couldn't be bothered to show the pic of the suspect, but the fire dept. did.

Down the memory hole it goes.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

I have a pretty good picture of the suspect in my mind's eye.

[dynachrome]

[dynachrome]

You are correct.

[Red Badger]

Obviously a sheet-wearing KKK white supremacist Trump supporter.............................

[Navy Patriot]

Fire that destroyed historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say, after seeing Negro suspect taking money from Jussie Smollett.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Missing picture immediately implies that the suspect doesn't fit “the narrative”.

That's a corollary to Coulter's Law.

[Restless]

MSM — “Rats. We were hoping for a white dude, preferably one wearing a MAGA hat.”

[blackdog]

Lefty progressive white privilege bunch calls that”Backburning for Social Justice”. I just call it arson.

[blackdog]

Memphis is 83% black.

[Tell It Right]

What if he’s the fall guy for a church leader setting fire to it to get the church some insurance money?

[VanShuyten]

Clayborn Temple

He undoubtably mistook it for a synagogue.

[TexasGator]

“Memphis is 83% black.”

61%

[cyclotic]

Good thing he stopped to remove the Trump hat before the camera picked him up

[Noumenon]

So glad I left back in 1972.

[packagingguy]

The Clayborn Temple is near FedEx forum but it’s been boarded up for as long as I can remember.

There was a fundraiser to restore it and some church was trying to get it back going.

I’m betting on some mentally ill person being responsible, there are a lot of them wandering around Memphis muttering to themselves and randomly cursing at non-existent people.

[blackdog]

After annexation, who are all trying to unincorporate from the city. I live here. The city by its old boundaries is 83% black. They whitened up by annexing white neighborhoods. It's a major problem with those area residents. They are seeking relief. The waterfront, Cooper-Young, and Hein Park, are the only decent areas of a healthy mix of race and culture. The rest is ratchet.

Central Gardens, Hein Park, and the waterfront, have hired their own private security 24 hours. The police aren't welcome, as many of them are the criminals. Every retail business and shopping center has to hire their own 24 hour private security.

[SunkenCiv]