On Wednesday, June 3, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department sent out a press release announcing that an arsonist or arsonists had set fire to the Guilford County Courthouse at 201 S. Eugene St. in downtown Greensboro.
According to the release, the fire was started about 1 a.m. on Sunday, May 31.
Luckily, emergency responders were able to contain and extinguish the fire in time, but now law enforcement agencies including the Sheriff’s Department are working hard to track down the person or persons who committed the arson.
The department is hoping someone saw something that will help officers in that effort and is asking anyone with information regarding the crime or the identity of the perpetrator to call 336-641-5969 and ask for Detective Robertson. Those who know something can also call Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000 if they prefer. All calls to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous.
Callers might want their identity known in this case because there’s a cash reward of up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest or an indictment of whoever set the fire.
In the past week, downtown Greensboro – like many sites across the country – has seen protests, rioting, looting, vandalism and arson in response to the death of George Floyd, the black man in Minneapolis who died under the knee of a white police officer.
In some cases, the destructive actions have been leveled against places related to law enforcement and the justice system. However, in most cases the vandalism is geared toward businesses or other random targets that simply happen to be in a downtown area or near some other site of a riot. As one example of the senselessness and absurdity of the destruction, one target in downtown Greensboro this past weekend was the International Civil Rights Center and Museum – an institution that honors the history of the struggle of black people to obtain justice.
to Michelle Kennedy: I’m sure the arsonist was a white person who got off their ass and couch – after all white people are so prone to rioting, vandalism, looting, etc. Why don’t you get off your ass and stop trying to appease blacks just so you look good to your counsel mates? You are a disgrace to women, white people, and blacks who do not want to be pandered to.
Anyone participating in a riot while arson, vandalism, robberies, and other felonies are being committed, is an accomplice. I doesn’t take much to relate the obvious.
If you think the Civil Rights Center is an insane target, how about the group that vandalized the Lincoln Memorial?? The people who did these things are even more ignorant than previously believed possible. Apparently, not everyone is hitting the streets for civil rights??
To Gilbert Jones – I agree, but I think they targeted the Lincoln Memorial and Civil Rights Museum because they lack the education to understand the significance of these places. I think much of what we’re seeing is due to a lack of education which shows the dumbing down of our citizens in order to control them is working. The outcome of all this will be shocking to many who are now “protesting”.
Our children have not been educated. They have been brain-washed. I see it everywhere. For example, Robert E. Lee was a great American. He distinguished himself during the Mexican-American war. He led the raid on John Brown. He was Superintendant at West Point when the Civil War Broke out. President Lincoln asked him to command the Union Army. Gen. Lee would not fight against his home state of Virginia, so he resigned to fight for Virginia. He surrendered his men gracefully, and continued to serve at Washington & Lee, until his death. Read a book!