FBI arrests self-proclaimed hate crime victim for allegedly setting deadly house fire
The FBI in Houston, Texas, recently announced the arrest of a self-proclaimed hate crime victim who authorities allege burned down his rental home, killing two people.
Mario Roberson of Huntsville was arrested by FBI agents and Texas Public Safety officers Thursday morning in a June 2023 house explosion in San Jacinto County. He faces life in prison.
Roberson was initially charged with arson in November 2023 and booked into the Harris County jail in December 2023. It is unclear why he was released.
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Roberson and his attorney claimed after the fire that he was being targeted by his homeowner's association, adding the fire was a hate crime.
He alleged racist graffiti was sprayed on the house, and he was nearly shot in the neighborhood weeks earlier.
Roberson provided a photo of the graffiti to ABC13 in 2023, which appeared to say, "We don't like your kind [racial slur]" written on the side door of his home.
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A survivor who deputies found crashed in a ditch after the fire told law enforcement a man asked him to drive to Huntsville from Houston, wanting to "do a numbers job on a house," the outlet reported.
"Whoever is doing it, he knows the man with the house," he said on a bodycam video obtained by ABC13. "A numbers [insurance fraud] job or something. That's all I know."
After a months-long investigation by the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office, a grand jury signed a "true bill," allowing him to be charged with first-degree felony arson.
FBI Houston did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.