Kadum Harwood was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison Thursday for setting fire to the Chattanooga Masonic Center. The sentence was handed down after the center’s board chair called Harwood a cowardly, stalking terrorist.
Harwood, 30, could have decided to set fire to a packed stadium at a basketball game in a local school or a church filled with worshipers on Christmas Eve, board Chair Paul Smith said in Chattanooga’s federal court.
“He’s a coward. He came in the nighttime,” Smith said. “We were lucky that we were the ones that were attacked.”
Harwood pleaded guilty in October to traveling across state lines with the intent to carry out an arson at the center in connection with the Sept. 4, 2023, fire.
“This crime was committed not in a typical manner,” Assistant United States Attorney Joe DeGaetano said.
Harwood was threatening Masonic members in the weeks leading up to his crime.
He went overnight to the center with a chainsaw, a sledgehammer, firewood and a gun, DeGaetano said. He demolished property, started a fire inside and fired a single shot at the center to wrap up the “entire episode.”
(READ MORE: Ringgold man argues for 3.5 years in prison for Masonic Center fire)
Then, Harwood posted on social media it was regrettable the center didn’t burn down as he intended, DeGaetano said.
It’s mystifying why he did this completely unprovoked, he said.
“He went about it in the most aggressive manner possible,” DeGaetano said.
Harwood’s public defender, Damon Burk, said there was no one in the courtroom Thursday who wished this incident never happen more than Harwood.
Former Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee said during a change of plea hearing that Harwood listened to too much talk radio while truck driving and believed the wrong conspiracy theories, Burk said.
After that hearing, Harwood shared he believed things he wished he hadn’t, Burk said.
There were a series of posts on a Facebook page matching Harwood’s name and residence in Ringgold in which he frequently referenced “FMs,” or Freemasons. The posts alluded to a conspiracy theory that accuses powerful people of harvesting chemicals from children’s bodies.
Burk said it was hyperbolic to claim Harwood’s crime was committed in the most aggressive manner possible.
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“Well, he did more than spray paint on the side of the building,” District Judge Charles E Atchley Jr. said.
Atchley said he could reject the plea deal, and Harwood could likely be found guilty of the greater offense of arson. He appeared to consider it for a minute as he leaned back in his chair and pushed his tongue against his cheek.
He ultimately accepted the plea agreement, and Harwood was ordered to pay over $159,000 in restitution.
“Mr. Harwood, you are a bit of a puzzle, and that’s the kindest way I can put it,” Atchley said.
Smith said the center is worth $3 million to $5 million, and the members began to feel stalked after Harwood left threatening emblems on the building prior to the fire.
Chattanooga Fire Capt. Henry McElvain was asked to stand in the audience at one point to be thanked for saving the building.
(READ MORE: Man arrested in connection with suspected arson at Chattanooga Masonic Center)
Harwood also sent emails threatening the center, the Alhambra Temple, the Catholic church and even his former boss who fired him from his job, Smith said. The FBI had to get involved.
“Some of his family was actually afraid of him,” Smith said.
Harwood owns 15 acres of land, a newer model of a truck and an entire arsenal, Smith said.
“But of course, he couldn’t afford a lawyer,” Smith said. “He crutched on the taxpayer.”
When Harwood was given a chance to respond to all of the statements, he choose not to.
“I don’t have anything else to say, your honor,” Harwood said. “I’m through.”
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.
Staff file photo by Ellen Gerst / The Chattanooga Masonic Center’s entryway is boarded up after a fire damaged the doors in September 2023. Kadum Harwood was sentenced to five years Thursday in connection with the fire.