Montgomery County government initially kept quiet about the first two arson and vandalism attacks at Bethesda churches early Saturday, and County leaders have been slow to react to the third yesterday morning. County officials made no public announcement of several fires being set at North Bethesda United Methodist Church, and of the cemetery being vandalized at the Wildwood Baptist Church next door Saturday until late the next morning, about 10 hours after a
third attack at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church. Arson and property damage at St. Jane's was significant enough that Sunday Masses had to be relocated to a gymnasium.
Coverage of the church attacks by local media has not yet delved into why the public was not informed Saturday of the first attacks. No report I've seen so far challenges County leaders as to why they did not make the initial two attacks public until more than 24 hours later. Had they been announced, perhaps other houses of worship and the public could have been on heightened alert; there's no evidence Montgomery County itself stepped up protection of nearby churches, as the arson Sunday morning would seem to confirm.
County elected officials' reaction to the weekend church attacks has been slow, underwhelming or non-existent. County Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D), who represents the area where all three houses of worship were vandalized, did not weigh in on the matter until very late Sunday evening on Twitter. Councilmembers Will Jawando (D -At-Large) and Gabe Albornoz (D - At-Large) tweeted at about the same time late Sunday. So far, no County elected official has outlined any actions they are taking in response.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) had still not issued a formal press release on the County website as of this writing, and had not commented on Twitter or Facebook. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen (D) has been silent on the attacks, despite a media event this past March at which he said, "It is a sad sign of the times that we have to be protecting places of worship, but it is a reality of the times.” His colleague, Ben Cardin (D), hasn't spoken out, either. Congressman Jamie Raskin (D), who represents Bethesda, hasn't issued a press release or social media statement as of this hour.
|
No press release yet from Montgomery County police |
Attacks of this nature are hate crimes and acts of domestic terrorism. But as of this morning, there is no press release from Montgomery County police on these high-profile crimes.
|
No visible police patrols or presence were seen at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in downtown Bethesda on the "night of rage" two weeks ago, nor last night following this weekend's attacks at other Bethesda churches |
The tepid response by Montgomery County to these events is not new this summer. In the evening and early morning following the controversial Supreme Court decision two weeks ago, there was no visible sign of stepped-up patrols at any Catholic churches I went by in the County. That was despite a warning of a "night of rage" by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to parishes nationwide, which said domestic terror incidents could be expected at Catholic churches. That night - and last night, following the disturbing events of the weekend - there was no visible sign of law enforcement outside of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in downtown Bethesda.