CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Martin Luther King Jr. Home Arson Suspect Charged

This just in!

Police have captured and charged a woman suspected of pouring gasoline on the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr. and attempting to light it ablaze.

Laneisha Shantrice Henderson of Florida has been identified as the culprit behind a viral video taken yesterday evening of a woman, dressed all in black, pouring flammable liquid all over the historic porch of the MLK Jr. home.

Thankfully, two tourists from Utah took notice and jumped into action, detaining her until cops arrived on the scene.

Check out the video here for yourself:

BREAKING: A woman has been charged after attempting to burn down Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home in Atlanta.

Was this woman trying to spark violent protests? Was this woman trying to blame white people for this?

This woman was spotted by tourists and detained until cops… pic.twitter.com/SwLCesvIep

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) December 8, 2023

The motive behind Henderson’s alleged arson attempt is unclear and has not been confirmed at this time.

Fox News has more details:

A Florida woman who was captured on video casually dousing Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home in Atlanta with gasoline before allegedly attempting to set it on fire has been identified and charged.

Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, 26, has been charged with attempted arson and interfering with government property after she was seen on camera pouring the flammable liquid out of a large red fuel container and onto the porch of the historic wooden property at around 5:45 p.m. Thursday.

The footage also shows the woman — who was dressed in all-black clothing — dousing plants and emptying the liquid against the windows of the Auburn Avenue house, which is located just blocks from the King Center, King National Historical Park and the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

She was stopped in her tracks by two tourists and then apprehended by two off-duty NYPD cops until Atlanta police arrived on the scene and arrested her.

The woman, who is understood to suffer from mental health issues, was transported to Grady Detention Center for evaluation before being transferred to Fulton County Jail, police said.

It is unclear why she intended to burn the building down. She could also face federal charges in connection with the incident, according to Fox 5.

Zachary Eugene Kempf, from Utah, who shot the shocking video and is one of the two tourists who stopped Henderson, said he was in Atlanta for work reasons when he decided to visit the house. He began recording this footage as he noticed the woman pouring gasoline around the house.

NBC News on MSN also reported:

A woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly trying to burn down the birth home of Martin Luther King, Jr., Atlanta police said.

The woman, Laneisha Shantrice Henderson, 26, was stopped by two tourists from Utah after they saw her pouring gasoline on the property, authorities said.

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Henderson was charged with second-degree arson and interfering with government property. She was taken to Grady Detention for a psychological evaluation and will be transferred to Fulton County Jail once she’s discharged, police said.

The tourists told officers they were on a work trip from Utah and wanted to visit the historical landmark, which is closed to the public. They said they saw Henderson outside pouring liquid on bushes but initially did not think anything of it, according to an incident report.

The tourists asked Henderson if she was tending to the plants, but she did not answer them. They asked her a few more questions and then noticed that she was carrying a gasoline container, police said.

What’s your reaction?

Why do you think she did it?

Was she just mentally ill or was she trying to pull a hate crime hoax?

This woman was arrested in Atlanta last night trying to burn down the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr. 2 Utah tourists called the police and 2 off-duty NYPD detained her until ATL police came. Her name is Laneisha Shantrice Henderson. People should dig for her associations to… pic.twitter.com/nKJYSYJA0J

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) December 8, 2023