(WFLA) — A Maryland man was arrested and charged with several offences stemming from disruptions at two Catholic churches on Christmas Eve, including one disruption in which he was accused of pouring liquor into a container of holy water.
The man, identified as a 56-year-old from St. Mary's County, had first visited the Holy Angels Catholic Church in Avenue, Maryland, during a religious service on Tuesday evening, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. There, he "approached the altar and dropped an onion in the aisle, disturbing the peace of those attending," the SMCSO said.
A person then ushered the man outside, where the suspect began pelting this person with tangerines, according to the sheriff's office.
Later that same night, at a midnight mass at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Leonardtown, the same suspect is accused of pouring whiskey into the holy water and threatening parishioners who tried to intervene.
While being escorted from the building, he then attempted to strike church attendees with the whiskey bottle, albeit "unsuccessfully," deputies said.
The suspect was transported to a hospital for evaluation before being arrested on Dec. 26 and booked into the St. Mary's County Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
He has been charged with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, defacing religious property, obstructing a religious service, committing a religious crime against a group, threatening mass violence, and disturbing the peace.
As of Thursday, the suspect was awaiting an appearance before a Maryland judicial official, the SMCSO said.
