FARGO (KFGO) - White supremacist Craig Cobb says he believes a fire that destroyed an abandoned church he recently purchased in Nome, ND was arson. The century-old building is the former Nome Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Cobb, speaking on KFGO's "News & Views," said it's obvious to him that the fire was intentionally set. “It’s logic because there’s no possible source of an internal fire in that building.”
Barnes County Sheriff Randy McClaflin says the North Dakota Fire Marshal will investigate the cause. “It’s early in the investigation and there’s going to be a lot of people to talk to” McClaflin said.
Cobb says he bought the building for $8,000 and estimates his total loss at more than double that amount because he had moved in some furniture.
Cobb is serving four years of probation for terrorizing and menacing residents of Leith in 2013. He currently lives in Sherwood, ND and says he has no plans to keep the property in Nome.