Bystanders, including two off-duty police officers from New
York, stopped the woman as she splashed gasoline on the historic
home in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward shortly before 6 p.m. on
Thursday and helped detain her until police arrived, local media
reported.
Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, 26, was charged with second-degree
arson and interference with government property, a police report
said. She was initially held at a local hospital for evaluation
before being booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta
without bond early on Friday, court records show.
Police on Friday did not immediately respond to inquiries about
further details on the incident.
Jail and court records did not list any information about an
attorney for Henderson.
Zach Kempf, a tourist from Utah, told local media including WSB-TV,
that he saw the woman throw fuel on the property and grab a
lighter.
"It was a little scary there for a minute because we didn't know
who she was, we didn't know if she had weapons on her, we didn't
know anything," he told the television station.
Several bystanders including the two off-duty NYPD officers
confronted and held the woman, media accounts report.
The property did not catch fire, police said.
The home, which is run by National Park Service, is a popular
tourist attraction, where people can see where King lived for
the first 12 years of his life. But tours have been suspended as
the home closed and undergoing rehabilitation work, according to
the park service.
King, who was assassinated in 1968, remains an American hero
known for his leadership in non-violent efforts to end
segregation and fight Jim Crow laws in the southern states that
denied basic rights to Black citizens.
The nearby King Center which honors MLK's legacy and founded by
his widow, Coretta Scott King, issued a statement.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by David Gregorio)
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