Madera man arrested for hate crimes
Donny Eugene Mower
MADERA – A Madera man has been arrested in connection to several building vandalisms in Madera as well as an attempted firebombing at the city’s Planned Parenthood building last year.
Authorities announced on Thursday that Donny Eugene Mower, 37, a bus driver for the Chowchilla Union High School District, will be facing charges in federal court for arson and attempted arson.
Last September, a Molotov cocktail-type object was thrown through a window at the Madera Planned Parenthood building. A sign was left outside of the building that read, “Murder our Children? We have a ‘choice’ too. Let’s see if you can burn just as well as your victims.”
The clinic had to be closed for two days due to fire and smoke damage from the incident.
Authorities also said that Mower is believed to be responsible for a hate crime at the Madera Islamic Center that occurred within the two weeks prior to the firebomb at the clinic. Signs reading “Wake up America, the enemy is here” and “No Temple for the god of terrorism at Ground Zero,” were placed in front of the mosque and a brick was thrown through one of the windows.
Around the same time, notes were taped to a United Methodist Church window reading, “Homosexual pastors? Is this a Christ honoring church or are you awakening the spirit of Sodom and Gommorah?”
The signs, including the one left in front of the planned parenthood clinic, had been signed ANB, which stands for American Nationalist Brotherhood. A fingerprint was eventually found on one of these signs, which led to Mower’s arrest.
“Information obtained in the course of the investigation led investigators to conclude Mr. Mower was ANB, the so-called American National Brotherhood, and he is allegedly responsible for placing a number of messages around the area,” said Ben Wagner, U.S. attorney.
Several agencies worked together to solve this crime, including the Madera County Sheriff’s Department, FBI, California Department of Justice, US Attorney’s Office and the Madera Police Department.
“This is a crime we’re not going to stand for in our country,” said Madera County Sheriff John Anderson.
