Pastor Arrested On His Way To Burn Korans In A Barbecue

Pastor Terry Jones was arrested on Wednesday as he drove a pickup truck towing a large barbecue-style grill filled with kerosene-soaked Korans to a park, where the pastor had said he was planning to burn 2,998 of the Muslim holy books - one for every victim of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Sheriff's deputies in Polk County, Florida, arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr, 44, each on a felony charge of unlawful conveyance of fuel.

Jones had said he was heading to a nearby park in Mulberry to burn the Korans on Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the attacks. Sheriff's officials said that Jones was also charged with unlawful open-carry of a firearm, a misdemeanor, and that Sapp faces a charge of having no valid registration for the trailer.

Both were being booked on Wednesday night into the Polk County jail, according to Sheriff Grady Judd. Mulberry's mayor, along with area elected officials, a sheriff's deputy and several Polk County residents have talked about the need to express love and tolerance for all faiths on September 11.

Jones is the pastor of a small evangelical Christian church. He first gained attention in 2010 when he planned to burn a Koran on the anniversary of 9/11, although he eventually called it off.

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