A federal judge sentenced a North Providence man to 6-and-a-half years in prison for trying to torch a Black church.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation in sentencing Kevin Colantonio, 36, to 78 months in prison for trying to set fire to a Shiloh Gospel Temple Ministries, a predominantly Black Pentecostal church with about 100 members at 974 Charles St.
Colantonio pleaded guilty in February to one count each of malicious damage by means of fire and obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs for setting blazes Feb. 11, 2024, at the parish and two counts of assaulting a federal officer for throwing feces on a guard.
Kevin Colantonio, was convicted of trying to burn down a predominantly Black church in North Providence and was sentenced to 78 months in prison on June 5, 2025.
‘He wanted to burn that church down’
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Roklan urged the court June 4 to impose a stiff sentence based on the gravity of the crime and its racial overtones.
“It’s clear that the defendant targeted that church … He wanted to burn that church down,” Roklan said.
“What’s different here is the hate,” Roklan said.
Parishioners at Shiloh Gospel Temple chimed in that Colantonio’s actions were those of hate.
Colantonio’s lawyer, Kara Hoopis Manosh, emphasized that her client had a history of mental health struggles starting at age 4.
“Kevin is ill,” she said.
A Bic lighter and $10 worth of gasoline
Colantonio was arrested days after the fire Shiloh Gospel Temple Ministries.
According to authorities, Colantonio bought a Bic lighter and $10 worth of gasoline at a Cumberland Farms on Mineral Spring Avenue shortly before midnight. He then walked to the church, where he poured the gasoline around its base and ignited it.
North Providence police officers quickly extinguished the blaze as flames traveled up curtains and around the door frame, but the church sustained smoke and other damage forcing it to hold services elsewhere.
Investigators found racist and extremist writings in his apartment, Roklan said.
“Hunt them down gun everyone down that isn’t white, if one is white spread the gospel. Always give our bloodline a chance,” one note read.
Roklan did not delve into the contents of those notes at sentencing.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Man who tried to burn down RI Black church sentenced to six years in prison