Franklin Barrett Sechriest Indicted for Austin Synagogue Fire Pleads Guilty

Franklin Barrett Sechriest, who was 19 years old at the time of the attack, targeted Congregation Beth Israel in Austin on Halloween of 2021, intentionally setting the fire that evening at 9 p.m. Central Time. The synagogue, the home of a progressive and reform congregation, sustained more than $25,000 in damage, authorities say.

Some two years after the attack, Sechriest stands convicted of arson and federal hate crime charges on the second day of Passover, a holiday celebrating the liberation of Jewish people from oppression.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, the first Black woman to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said that Franklin Sechriest’s conviction sends a message from her office.

“Antisemitism has no place in our society, and hate-fueled violence will not be tolerated,” Clark wrote in a statement. “By targeting a house of worship, the defendant attempted to intimidate and disrupt the Jewish community. The Department of Justice is committed to aggressively prosecuting antisemitic violence and will continue to hold accountable the people responsible for these deplorable incidents.”