White supremacist sentenced to 17 years for arson, attempting to provide support for Hezbollah

Prater used a "napalm-based incendiary device" to destroy the Highlander Center's buildings, a nonprofit research and education center in Tennessee, causing over $1 million in damages.

A man was sentenced to over 17 years in prison for arson and attempting to provide material support for Hezbollah back in 2019, the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

Regan Darby Prater, 28, was sentenced and ordered to pay nearly $1.3 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to the charges in April.

The DOJ said that Prater used what they described as a "napalm-based incendiary device" to destroy the Highlander Center's buildings, a nonprofit research and education center in Tennessee, causing over a million dollars in damages.

Before setting the facilities up in flames, court records showed that Prater spray-painted a Nazi symbol in the parking lot of the Highlander Center. The same symbol was engraved on a rifle used in the terror attack on two Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, back in 2019.

Prater admitted to committing the arson on the Highlander Center motivated by white-supremacist ideology, and admitted to targeting the non-profit for its faith-based educational priorities and its association with civil rights.

'Start the hunt'

The DOJ also disclosed that Prater admitted to providing material support to Hezbollah. According to the DOJ, Prater obtained documents containing personal information on more than 35,000 individuals allegedly affiliated with Israel's government; however, the DOJ did not specify how Prater obtained them.

Prater took the sensitive information and provided it to an individual he believed was part of Hezbollah and reportedly told the operative to "start the hunt," the DOJ said.

The FBI Nashville field office investigated the case with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to the DOJ.