Authorities in Maryland announced Thursday that three persons had been taken into custody and charged with crimes against multiple churches in Anne Arundel County including vandalism and destruction of property. According to Maryland law, any property damage of a religious entity is considered a hate crime.

Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief Katie Roberts told reporters at a press conference on Thursday announcing the arrests, “Let me be very clear: there is no place for hate in our county,” she said adding; “We will not tolerate hateful acts of any kind towards our places of worship or any individuals in this county.” 

Arrested in separate incidents Roberts said was twin brothers Blake Krenzer, 19, and Brandon Krenzer, 19, and Jarren Alexander, 22. Roberts noted that the department’s detectives and uniformed officers investigated as many as five incidences of vandalism at four churches in the County.

Alexander is alleged to have caused extensive damage to Fowler United Methodist Church (UMC), a historic Black church in Annapolis, on June 9. He also is being charged in connection with two additional incidents of vandalism at nearby St. Philip’s Episcopal Church that occurred after the hate crime at Fowler.

Blake Krenzer and Brandon Krenzer were charged in the vandalism/defacing of the Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Pride signs at the Ark & Dove Presbyterian Church in Odenton in the early morning hours of June 14. That incident was captured on video surveillance footage which was released publicly.

In the video one of the Krenzers appears to be wearing a bandana with a confederate flag over his face. Another is wearing a shirt that says, “American Muscle,” with an American flag on it.

“Within 30 minutes of posting surveillance images on our social media, several community members came forward with tips that led to arrests in those cases,” Roberts told reporters. “These are amazing examples of community policing.”

Also speaking to reporters was the Pastor of Fowler UMC, Reverend Jerome Jones, who recounted the destruction of the more than 100 Bibles and hymnals that were destroyed, five televisions were smashed, and a large wooden cross was cracked on a pew.

“I have pastored since 2012, and I have never seen a church in such disarray and so much pain in a room,” said Jones. “Frederick Douglass once said, ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’ But (we) have held on to our faith. Most of all, we never let go of hope.”