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Boston, MA
Package fire outside Boston’s Museum of African American History under investigation
Boston police, federal agents and the National Park Service are investigating an incident involving a fire behind the historic African Meeting House, a landmark that is part of Boston’s Museum of African American History.
The National Park Service said it responded to the African Meeting House during the early morning hours of June 3 after an unidentified person was seen on surveillance video opening a package that had been left outside the building. Authorities said the individual removed some of the contents and burned several items in a small alley behind the structure.
Officials said there are no early indications the incident was an attempt to set fire to the building itself, but the case remains under active investigation.
The African Meeting House, built in 1806 on Beacon Hill, is recognized as the nation’s oldest surviving Black church building and is a National Historic Landmark.
“This has been a distressing situation, and quite sobering,” museum President and CEO Noelle Trent said.
Trent said the package contained materials intended for upcoming Juneteenth celebrations. According to the museum, the person scattered and burned some of the contents behind the building.
Outside the Museum of African American History, where a package fire was reported early Wednesday, June 4, 2026.
“A small ember would be devastating, not only for this building but also for the community around us,” Trent said.
Investigators from the Boston Police Department, the Boston Fire Department’s Arson Unit and federal authorities are working to determine a motive.
Trent said the incident is particularly concerning because of the building’s historical significance.
“We do not have many buildings like this in the country, so we are a physical marker and a reminder of the community and what happened here,” she said. “If this goes, there’s nothing else like it anywhere else in the world.”
NBC10 Boston NBC10 Boston Inside the Museum of African American History in Boston.
Mayor Michelle Wu also highlighted the importance of the African Meeting House and said the Civil Rights Division of the Boston Police Department is investigating.
“At a time of unrelenting attacks on Black history and Black communities, the Museum of African American History in Boston stands as a pillar of truth and conscience for our city and our country,” Wu said in a statement. “The African Meeting House — the oldest standing Black church in the United States — continues to be a home for important community convenings to this day. This disturbing incident of suspected arson is under investigation by the Boston Police Department’s Civil Rights Division, and hateful acts of violence will never be tolerated in Boston. The City of Boston stands firmly with Dr. Trent and the entire MAAH team, and we will not be intimidated in our work to make Boston a home for everyone.”
No injuries were reported. Authorities said additional information will be released as the investigation continues.
Local News
The boy was stabilized and flown to a Boston hospital, police said.
A 13-year-old boy was flown to a Boston hospital after he was found unresponsive in a swimming pool at a home in Beverly on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Police and firefighters were called to a home on Parramatta Road after bystanders pulled the boy from the pool, the Beverly Police Department wrote in a press release.
Bystanders administered CPR until first responders arrived, according to police. First responders continued CPR and other “life saving measures,” police said.
An ambulance took the boy to Beverly Hospital where he was stabilized. He was then taken by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital, police said.
The incident is currently being investigated by Beverly police, the department said.
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Boston, MA
Federal judge in Boston bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote – The Boston Globe
A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.
Casper rejected the administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be implemented. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.
The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” she wrote.
Among other proposed changes, Trump’s order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money.
It was the latest in a string of rulings against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. He has since signed another executive order on elections, seeking to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting. That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.
Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a separate challenge to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups blocked the government from taking steps to include the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later barred the Secretary of Defense from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.
In an apparent nod to the difficulty of implementing a proof-of-citizen requirement by executive order, Trump is pushing legislation in the Republican-controlled Congress to create such a mandate. The SAVE America Act has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, leading Trump to advocate for eliminating the filibuster that is blocking the legislation.
On Wednesday, he abruptly cancelled the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill, saying he won’t sign legislation until Congress passes his proof of citizenship requirement for voting.
Three days after an alleged carjacker hit and killed a woman in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, members of the community came together to honor her life.
A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday evening for 32-year-old Mabinty Janneh of Dorchester. She died after being hit Saturday afternoon on Blue Hill Avenue.
Ibraim Matos, 37, of Hyde Park, is charged with murder in the crash. He allegedly stole a vehicle and drove it onto the sidewalk, fatally hitting Janneh.
Ibraim Matos of Hyde Park has been charged with murder in the deadly crash.
Heartbroken family, friends and community members gathered near the site of the crash to remember Janneh Tuesday.
“We need justice for Mabinty,” said her aunt, Mbalu Tarawally.
“I just felt like I needed to be present,” said Rev. Dr. Barbara Simmons. “If the family lost a person, the least I can do is come here and show my face.”
“She was young, vibrant. Hard worker. Wants to do everything,” said Ahmad Thorley, a family member of Janneh.
The suspect in a deadly carjacking and crash in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood appeared in court to face charges including murder.
Witnesses said Matos dragged Janneh several hundred feet after hitting her.
The stolen Toyota RAV4 crashed into an MBTA bus, and people at the pulled Matos out of the car and holding him there until police arrived.
Matos pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of leaving the scene of personal injury and death and motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, along with murder and carjacking. His defense attorney spoke briefly on Monday, saying they will evaluate “where we stand” in a few weeks after the mental health evaluation.
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