
Investigators have “no idea” why an arsonist set a small Somali restaurant ablaze in Grand Forks, North Dakota, but it’s looking like a pretty solid case of an anti-Muslim hate crime: Last week, someone — certainly possibly the same someone — vandalized Juba Coffee & Restaurant by tagging it with the words “go home” and a Nazi-style “SS.”
The fire inflicted $90,000 worth of damage to the spot, apparently Grand Forks’ only Somali joint, which made it understandably popular among Muslim residents:
With Muslim hate crimes on the rise since the Paris and San Bernardino shootings, city leaders said they’re determined to keep the incident from affecting Grand Forks’ relationship with its Islamic population.