**FBI Arrests Suspect for Setting Fire at Historic Black Church**
**By The Associated Press**
**August 22, 2023**
ATLANTA (AP) — The FBI has arrested a suspect in connection with the fire that destroyed a historic Black church in Mississippi, the agency said Monday.
The fire at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, was reported around 3 a.m. Sunday. The church was heavily damaged and is considered a total loss.
The FBI said in a statement that it had arrested Paul Harris Jr., 26, of Greenville, on Sunday night. Harris has been charged with one count of malicious damage to religious property involving fire.
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is a historic Black church that was founded in 1876. The church has been a center of the local community for generations.
The fire at the church has been met with outrage and condemnation from local and national leaders.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves called the fire a .
