A Buddhist temple in Tacoma, Washington was vandalized by a man who says "God called him" to do it.
Jereme Clarke allegedly drove to the temple outside Seattle and tried to pull the support down by putting a rope around it using what appeared to be a early-90s Nissan Altima, reports King 5 News.
When his Altima could not generate enough torque to pull down the Chùa Phước Huệ Vietnamese Buddhist Meditation Center, he instead pushed over a large hand-carved statue in a video captured by an observer.
Police said that Clarke told them "God called him" to vandalize the temple.
He was asked why and allegedly said: "How could you ask that, they are obviously devil worshipers, have you seen that statue?"
Members of the center say they feel targeted and wonder how many other Christians share Clarke's view.
“It’s just a visceral feeling, like a punch to the stomach,” said one of the temple's allies.
Clarke has been charged with second-degree malicious mischief, which is a felony. Some of the temple's allies have called on Clarke to be charged with a hate crime.
Watch a news segment which includes the shocking footage below.
