A man faces charges of arson and vandalism after a fire at the Chattanooga Masonic Center damaged the building, according to the Chattanooga Fire Department.
Kadum Harwood, 29, was arrested Monday in Catoosa County, Georgia, and will be extradited to Hamilton County, the department said in a news release Tuesday.
Harwood is charged with arson, vandalism, burglary and reckless endangerment. A multiagency investigation identified Harwood as the suspect, according to the news release.
Firefighters responding to an alarm around 2 a.m. Monday found a fire on the Masonic Center’s front exterior and another small fire inside the building that had set off its sprinkler system, according to the news release. The sprinklers tamped the inside fire, but the building sustained fire and water damage, as well as damage from vandalism, the department said.
Most of the damage was done in the center’s entryway and main dining hall, which the Chattanooga Lodge #199 rents out to various clubs as meeting space.
An American flag in the hall was burned, along with several curtains that lined the walls. A wooden podium was overturned and burned, with additional logs placed on top that appeared burned. Much of the furniture in the hall, including several large tables and chairs, was overturned or damaged when seen Tuesday.
Parts of the hall’s floor were covered with broken glass from a door and water from the sprinklers.
In the entryway, a grandfather clock was smashed on the floor. A stained glass piece on the wall was broken on an image of the Masonic seal, and a framed photo of Tennessee Grand Master Jim Arnhart had two holes punched through it.
Outside, two small statues at the entrance had their heads broken off. The center’s front doors were boarded up by Tuesday afternoon, and flowering bushes near the door appeared trampled and burned in places.
A representative for the Masonic Center declined to comment Tuesday, citing an open investigation.
Marty von Schaaf, president of the Pachyderm Club, said the group will have to find somewhere else to meet while repairs are being done.
“It’s probably, if not the only, it’s one of the very, very few places that has plenty of free parking … and it’s close to downtown,” von Schaaf said by phone Tuesday.
A social media page with Harwood’s name, which lists his residence as Ringgold, Georgia, has several posts in the week leading up to the arson incident directed at “FM,” or Freemasons.
On Aug. 26, several posts were made on the page within a 15-minute time frame.
“The date is ominously approaching,” one post said. “We keep getting closer and closer with each passing minute.”
“You FM buddies know EXACTLY what’s coming,” the page posted several minutes later.
“My boyszz better than yall rinky dink FM s— anyway,” added another post.
The next day, several posts on the page referenced apparent intentions to burn property. A warning was given to FMs in the spring, one post said. Another post referenced a Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy by name.
“Just for f—— with my mama yall FM gonna pay dearly I’m f—— livid rn,” a post made Aug. 27 said. “A lodge getting burnt.”
A minute later, a post said the poster planned to “make another example out of yall FM.”
“I think I gonna burn the one downtown it be yall fav,” another post said. “And I’m gonna drive back up to Rock Hill and burn the Aldi down where my mama office was.”
Twelve posts made Monday, in the hours after the arson was reported, referenced different people and agencies. The first one, which said “WE didn’t see anything,” was posted at 7:08 a.m.
“The sheriff’s office didn’t see anything,” one post, at 8:09 a.m. Monday, said.
At 8:14 a.m., a video of a news story about Catoosa County school buses being burned was posted on the page.
“What about yall boys at the Fire Hall,” a post at 8:17 a.m. said. “Did yall see anything?”
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.