A man from Spotsylvania was arrested last week for allegedly threatening to bomb one of Northern Virginia’s biggest mosques.
The threat was posted as a comment on the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center’s Instagram page, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).
“The comment indicated that someone intended to deliver an explosive device to an ADAMS Center event,” the sheriff’s office said today (Monday) in a press release.
According to the LCSO, its detectives traced the comment to a home in the 6800 block of Luce Lane in Spotsylvania, where they executed multiple search warrants last Friday (Sept. 18) with help from the Virginia State Police and the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.
Adam Sawyer, 50, was then arrested by the Spotsylvania sheriff’s office on Saturday, Sept. 19 and charged with one count of a threat to bomb, which is a class 5 felony in Virginia punishable with one to 10 years of prison time if there’s a conviction.
The charge doesn’t appear yet in online court records, but the LCSO says Sawyer has been released from Rappahannock Regional Jail on an unsecured bond. Court proceedings will take place in Loudoun, the sheriff’s office confirmed.
“The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office thanks the Fairfax County Police Department, Virginia State Police, and Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation,” the LCSO said.
The ADAMS Center didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights advocacy group, urged law enforcement officials to consider hate crime charges if appropriate.
“We welcome the quick and coordinated action by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, and the Fairfax County Police Department in identifying and apprehending a suspect in this disturbing case,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“Threats targeting places of worship strike at the core of religious freedom and public safety,” he continued. “We urge law enforcement authorities to consider appropriate hate crime charges if the evidence demonstrates a bias-motivated intent, and we advise all Islamic institutions to remain vigilant and maintain strong security protocols.”
Located in Sterling (46903 Sugarland Road) just west of the Loudoun/Fairfax line, the ADAMS Center was originally established in 1983 by a group of Reston and Herndon families. It has grown into one of the largest mosques in the region, with more than 35,000 members, per its most recent annual report.
In addition to its main campus in Sterling, which hosts a 25,000-square-foot mosque that can accommodate over 700 people, the nonprofit organization has six branches, including in Fairfax and Chantilly. Another location in Gainesville is currently under construction.
Screenshot via Google Maps. This story initially said that the ADAMS Center has a branch in Reston. While the center rents space at the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation in Reston, where it offers Friday prayer services, it’s not an official branch.
