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GLEN BURNIE, Md. (AP) — Police have arrested a woman suspected of throwing a Molotov cocktail into a place of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Maryland, according to court records.
Heather Meisel, 43, was charged Friday after she told investigators that she damaged the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Glen Burnie to “send a message,” the Capital Gazette reported, citing charging records.
Meisel, a Baltimore County resident, was arrested on charges including attempted murder and defacement of religious property.
Anne Arundel County fire investigators found a door with broken glass and a Molotov cocktail made from an apple cider vinegar bottle inside the building on Thursday morning. A partially burned piece of cotton was found near the broken glass.
Police estimated the incident caused more than $1,000 in damage to the building’s front door and more than $1,000 in damage to property inside the building.
A security video showed Meisel sitting in a car parked outside the building for nearly an hour before she approached it, according to court documents. Two people walked past her car into the building while she was parked, which meant the Kingdom Hall was occupied when she threw the Molotov cocktail inside, according to charging documents.
Meisel resisted arrest and told officers she was “royalty,” the documents said.
Meisel has a bail review hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Glen Burnie District Court.
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