On Dec. 7, a woman was arrested after dousing gasoline around Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home in Atlanta, as she attempted to set the home on fire.
Laneisha Henderson, 26, was charged with a criminal attempt to commit arson and a criminal attempt to damage government property.
At 5:45 p.m., Atlanta police officers responded to Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home following reports of vandalism. Two tourists from Utah told officers they saw a woman dousing plants, the front door and the porch with what smelled like gasoline before they saw her attempt to ignite a lighter.
Two retired New York police officers visiting the site detained the woman until Atlanta police arrived at the scene.
Atlanta Fire Department Battalion Chief Jerry DeBerry said that if the tourists had not intervened, the house could have burned to the ground in a matter of seconds.
“We appreciate the intervention of several good Samaritans, tourists and off-duty police officers, whose quick thinking and actions averted a tragic loss of such an important symbol of America’s civil rights history,” said Martin Luther King III in a statement released on Dec. 8 about the incident.
The house was acquired for preservation by the National Park Service from the King family in 2018 and has been open for public tours through last month.
