SC man inspired by Bible verse to torch Georgia church sentenced to prison
A South Carolina man inspired by a Bible verse to set fire to a Georgia church will spend the next five years behind bars.
Luke Andrew Westefeld, 35, of North Augusta, was sentenced Thursday to 60 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced.
Westefeld, who in April pleaded guilty to one count of malicious use of fire for torching the Byron United Methodist Church in Central Georgia, faced up to 20 years in prison for his crime.
“The act of setting fire to a place of worship is not just an attack on a building, it’s an assault on the community’s spirit,” ATF Atlanta’s Resident Agent in Charge Robert W. Davis said in a statement following Westefeld’s sentencing.
The ATF worked the case in concert with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Fire Marshals and the Centerville, Georgia and Byron, Georgia police departments.
According to court documents and testimony, Westefeld broke into the Byron United Methodist Church on the night of Aug. 20, 2024, and grew incensed upon seeing unlit candlesticks on the altar.
When he noticed that the Bible on the pulpit was opened to Ezekiel 24:21, a passage foretelling the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem, Westefeld took it as a sign he should burn the church down, prosecutors said.
After lighting the candlesticks and burning the American and Methodist flags in the sanctuary, he retreated to the church office, where he grew even more enraged, according to authorities.
The cash, checks and food he found in the office raised his anger level to a “10,” prosecutors said, because he believed the money should have been deposited in a bank and the food distributed to the poor.
Westefeld, who ended up pocketing the cash, then proceeded to set fire to the church office, according to authorities.
He tried to accelerate the blaze by siphoning gasoline from a locked church van that was parked behind the church, but was unsuccessful, prosecutors said. Instead, Westefeld stuffed his white shirt into the van’s gas cap and set it on fire.
This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 2:45 PM with the headline "SC man inspired by Bible verse to torch Georgia church sentenced to prison."