Woman arrested for hate crime, allegedly set Novato church property on fire
An arson and hate crime arrest. Photo courtesy the Novato Police Department.
NOVATO, Calif. - Community members are condemning an attempted church arson and hate crime that happened in Novato over the weekend.
The Novato Police Department on Saturday arrested a woman for allegedly setting a brush fire at North Bay Christ Church on Redwood Boulevard.
Witnesses told police they saw the woman walking away from the fire. Police officers responded to the scene at 6:30 a.m. on the report of a brush fire.
When officers arrived, they described an area of about 30-square-feet on fire with 10-foot-high flames. Police said multiple small structures, including a nativity scene, Star of David, and a cross were burned.
The Novato Fire Department also responded to the scene and put out the fire.
The fire resulted in approximately $2,000 in damage, according to police.
An arson and hate crime arrest. Photo courtesy the Novato Police Department.
Suspect located and arrested
While the fire was being put out, police located a suspect. She has been identified as Denise Roberts, 61, of Santa Clara. Police in a social media post shared photos of the scene. They said Roberts was found to have items used to start the fire. She is also said to have made admissions to police that religious bias motivated her to start the fire.
Roberts was arrested and booked into the Marin County Jail for a hate crime and felony arson of a structure.
Police thanked community members for calling 911.
The police said in their post that everyone deserves to be safe. "Bias-based destruction and hate have no place in our city," they said.
Pastor forgives suspect
The church's pastor, Matthew Holiday, thanked the fire department and law enforcement for acting fast in this case. He also thanked the witnesses who noticed the smoke and flames.
"As a leader of this Christian community, it is our sincere desire to live out our faith authentically—both privately and publicly. At the heart of our belief is the call to forgive, and in that spirit, we extend immediate forgiveness to Ms. Roberts. We now pray that she finds the help and healing she needs."
Holiday indicated they would rebuild the Nativity structure that was destroyed. He hoped it would be in place for their Live Nativity event on Dec. 20.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is one of the community groups that has spoken out after this attack.
"We condemn any act of hate targeting members of faith and minority communities," said Reshad Noorzay, Executive Director of CAIR-Sacramento Valley/Central California). "Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must be free to go about their daily lives without fear of bias-motivated attacks."
CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo thanked law enforcement for charging the suspect with a hate crime.
"We stand in solidarity with all communities targeted by violent bigotry," Billoo said. She added that CAIR and the Muslim American community stand in solidarity with everyone who is "challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy and all other forms of bigotry."
KTVU's Betty Yu contributed to this story.
An arson and hate crime arrest. Photo courtesy the Novato Police Department.