TOLEDO, Ohio – An Indiana man who said he set an Ohio mosque on fire to avenge American soldiers now wants to withdraw his guilty plea.
Randy Linn, of St. Joe, Ind., asked to change his plea Tuesday, saying he made a mistake pleading guilty to hate crime charges.
In a new court filing Linn says he was in an emotional state and depressed when he entered a guilty plea last month. At that hearing the truck driver told a federal judge he thought most Muslims are terrorists.
Prosecutors say Linn was armed when he broke into the Toledo-area mosque, poured gasoline on a prayer rug and lit it on fire.
A deal with prosecutors had called for Linn to be sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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