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Home • News

Woman Arrested For Attempted Arson After She Appeared To Pour Gasoline On Birth Home Of Martin Luther King Jr.

Out-of-town visitors reportedly caught the woman before she could successfully commit the apparent arson at the Atlanta home.
Woman Arrested After Trying To Burn Down Birth Home Of Martin Luther King Jr.
ATLANTA – JULY 27: Hundreds line up for ‘open house’ at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth home in Atlanta, Georgia on July 27, 2019. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
By Malaika Jabali · Updated December 8, 2023
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A woman was arrested after bystanders caught her reportedly attempting to set fire to Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic home in Atlanta on Thursday.

The woman, 26, is being charged with criminal attempt arson and criminal attempt interference with government property, as King’s childhood home is registered as a National Historic Park.

Dr. King was born in the home– which is located in a historically Black district near Ebenezer Baptist Church where he served as co-pastor alongside his father– and spent the first 12 years of his there.

The woman emptied what “looked to be a large red can of gasoline all over the front porch,” NPR reports, and she was trying to bring a lighter to the porch before bystanders stopped her.

Video also shows her pouring the liquid onto walls, windows, and in front of the porch.

BREAKING UPDATE: Woman charged with pouring gasoline, trying to burn down Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta birth home, according to police.
Here's what we know: https://t.co/4jdq6B3r8l pic.twitter.com/x7JpHQNAzK

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) December 8, 2023

None of the property was burned, and it remains under renovations.

The woman reportedly underwent an evaluation at a nearby hospital after police arrived on the scene.