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.

“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

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.

BOSTON — Karen Read has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton, alleging misconduct and negligence in the investigation that led to her prosecution in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.

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The suit filed Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court argues that Read’s acquittal last June revealed “an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations.” It alleges that the town and the police department were negligent in the hiring, training, and supervision of officers.

The town of Canton and the Canton Police Department did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.

Read walked out of court a free woman about a year ago after more than three years and two trials over the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found on the suburban lawn of a fellow officer’s home after a night of heavy drinking during a snowstorm.

Read faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene. The jury convicted her of a lesser charge, drunken driving.

Prosecutors said Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV on January 2022 night of the party, leaving him to die in a blizzard.

Her lawyers successfully defended her, painting a sinister picture of police misconduct and theorizing that O’Keefe was in fact killed by colleagues who then covered it up.

The trial centered in part on lead investigator Michael Proctor, whom defense attorneys described as biased against Read from the beginning. The Massachusetts State Police trial board found Proctor guilty of sending crude and defamatory text messages about Read while leading the investigation into her. He was fired and drew the ire of Read supporters who believe he played a key role in an alleged cover-up to frame her.

The complaint filed Thursday devotes dozens of pages to Proctor and former Canton police Sgt. Sean Goode, citing texts, recordings and other communications that it says demonstrate racist, sexist and other derogatory remarks. Read argues that those materials show both men were unfit to participate in the investigation and that their conduct reflected broader failures in oversight by state and local law enforcement officials.

Goode was placed on leave in November 2025 when the town was notified about allegations of misconduct. He resigned earlier this week, according to news outlets.