Man accused of Austin synagogue arson pleads guilty to 2 charges

According to court documents filed April 21, Franklin Barrett Sechriest pleaded guilty to arson and hate crime damage to a religious property.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man accused in the 2021 arson of an Austin synagogue pleaded guilty to two charges.

According to court documents filed April 21, Franklin Barrett Sechriest pleaded guilty to arson and hate crime damage to a religious property.

In October 2021, arson investigators responded to a fire that started on the ground outside of a synagogue in central Austin.

Court documents stated Sechriest “through the use and attempted use of fire, intentionally defaced, damaged, and destroyed, and attempted to deface, damage, and destroy religious real property, that is, Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue located in Austin, Texas, because of the race and ethnic characteristics of any individual associated with that religious property.”

Sechriest previously faced a charge for the use of fire to commit a federal felony, but the charge was not included in the plea documents.