Major Langford, who works full time in the Army Reserve, served two tours in Iraq while on active Army duty and earned a Bronze Star for “outstanding dedication to duty during combat” while with a military police battalion, a spokesman for the Army Reserve said. He has received other decorations, including the Army Good Conduct Medal.

The events that led to Major Langford’s arrest began Thursday afternoon when he insulted a mosque member doing construction work near the mosque and then left packages of bacon at the mosque entrance, according to the authorities and witnesses.

Advocacy groups say pork is often used to insult Muslims, whose religion does not allow them to eat it. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the act constituted a desecration of the place of worship.

Witnesses say the suspect left and returned to the Masjid Al Madina mosque several times in his truck, prompting tense moments inside while children were sheltered in the back of the building. The authorities said there were no injuries.

At one point, the suspect followed one member home, resulting in the stalking charge, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The mosque member tried to evade him but could not.