The alleged vandalism of a Buddhist temple in Fort Smith has prompted a call for hate crime legislation from a national organization and responses from a state representative and the temple president.

Shawn Michael Israel of Fort Smith was arrested Sunday on suspicion of felony first-degree criminal mischief after police allegedly found him destroying the heads of three Buddhist statues at Wat Lao Santitham temple, 4625 Armour St. Israel allegedly told Fort Smith police he was obeying the Bible by destroying a “false idol,” according to the arrest report.

In response to the alleged vandalism, members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Tuesday called for the Arkansas General Assembly to create and pass hate crime legislation in their state. Arkansas is one of only four states without such a law — crimes motivated by discrimination against religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation must be tried at a federal level if committed in the state.

AR District 78 state Rep. Jay Richardson, D-Fort Smith, said he and other lawmakers are working to create a hate crime bill for vote in the state’s 2021 General Assembly. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson in August 2019 said he wants Arkansas to join the 46 other states with hate crime legislation.

Wat Lao President Buasay Keobounson said he supports the push for legislation.

“I felt unhappy and sorry about (the vandalism) and feel unsafe for the monks,” he said.

Police when they arrived at the temple around 1:30 p.m. Sunday reported that they saw Israel hitting one of three statues he allegedly destroyed with a hammer. Israel during his arrest told police he was doing what God told him to do through scripture.

Israel also told police he tried to destroy the statue the day before but that the tool he was using broke as he destroyed the head of the statue. He said he returned on Sunday to destroy the body of the statue with the hammer he handed over during his arrest, the report states.

Israel allegedly had a Bible at the time of the incident, the report states.

“No one practicing their faith in America should have to put up with that sort of thing,” said police spokesperson Aric Mitchell. “That’s why we increased our patrols after this happened. It was a disgusting act.”

While he had not been formally charged in Sebastian County Circuit Court on Tuesday, County Prosecutor Dan Shue said charges may be filed at both a state and a federal level.

“Obviously, if a person targets another because of race, ethnicity or religion, then that will certainly be taken into consideration for any disposition of the matter,” Shue said. “Further, victim impact evidence is almost always a factor for determining what is the right thing to do.”

Western District of Arkansas Public Information Officer Charlie Robbins said local prosecutors in the past have reached out to federal authorities if the facts of a case constitute federal charges. The Western District on Tuesday did not have a case filed for Israel’s alleged offenses, he said.

Shue said the prosecutor’s office will work with the Western District on how to proceed in the case if they choose to do so.

Although Israel during the alleged offense cited the ten commandments in the Bible — the first of which states, “You shall have no other gods before me” — Keobounson said he believes the vandalism was a perversion of Christianity. He said every religion “wants people to be good.”

“I believe Christ was a good man,” he said. “He wanted all of his followers to be good people.”

Keobounson said he will not be able to replace the statues — which were imported from Thailand and damaged at an estimated $10,000 — until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. He said he doesn’t want to visit the temple to minimize his interactions with others as much as possible.

COVID-19 highlights another fear Keobounson has — discrimination toward Asian Americans during the outbreak. Reports from Asian Americans of discrimination following the outbreak of the virus that originated in China have grown since the onset of the outbreak, according to the Associated Press.

“I wanted to let the community know and make them aware of this situation so they can be careful,” he said. “Maybe something would happen in the future. Let them know, be alert and be careful to go somewhere.”

Fort Smith in recent years has seen a handful of reports and offenses related to factors typically cited in hate crime cases. Police in September 2019 submitted a report of a person spray-painting “die,” “no n*****s allowed” and “white power” on a woman’s car to the FBI for hate crime consideration. Craig Wigginton, Abraham Davis and Ezra Pedraza in 2017 pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief after Wigginton in October 2016 spray-painted swastikas on Al Salam Mosque in Fort Smith.

Keobounson hopes such an act never happens at the temple again.

“For the past 30 years, everything has been OK,” he said. “We can live together peacefully.”

"I am saddened by this apparent act of religious intolerance and am grateful that our officers were able to apprehend the suspect,“ Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker said in a news release.