Jones arrested before burning Qurans

Florida police arrested infamous pastor Terry Jones before he could burn thousands of copies of Quran on the anniversary of September 11 attacks.

Polk County sheriff’s deputies arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr., 44, on felony charges of unlawful conveyance of fuel as their pickup truck was towing a large grill filled with nearly 3,000 Qurans soaked in kerosene, according to Associated Press.

“We couldn’t allow that vehicle to continue down that road,” Sheriff Grady Judd is quoted by the Polk County Ledger, calling Jones’s car a “bomb”.

Jones had announced he was heading to a nearby park to burn 2,988 Qurans, equal to the number of victims of Sept. 11, 2011 attacks.

Sheriff’s officials also said Jones was also charged with unlawful open-carry of a gun.

Both pastors were detained in Polk County jail Wednesday night, said Sheriff Grady Judd.

Jones, who is the pastor of a small church, has been at the center of many anti-Muslim activities in recent years.

In 2010, he announced that he was going to burn a copy of Quran on the anniversary of 9/11, a plan he was forced to cancel later.

He, however, burned copies of Quran in March 2011 and April 2012 and later openly backed an anti-Muslim Hollywood film insulting the holy Prophet of Islam.

His actions sparked angry protests across the world.

Terry Jones’s actions have brought condemnation from the international community and world leaders, including from Pope Benedict XVI.