Suspect Arrested For Leesburg, Florida Lodge Fire

by Christopher Hodapp

Police have arrested a man connected with the June 14th destruction of the Masonic Hall shared by Leesburg Lodge 58 and The Villages Lodge 394  near Orlando, Florida. Luke Pratt, 22, had been spotted on surveillance video standing outside the building when the fire started, holding a baseball bat and a can of gasoline.

From the Leesburg-News.com website:

Pratt on June 18 admitted to his mother that he set the fire at the Masonic Lodge, according to an affidavit of probable cause from the Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations. He made the admission while he was at her home in Marion County and was and was taken into custody by Marion County sheriff’s deputies under the Baker Act.

His mother contacted law enforcement and met them at her son’s home in Leesburg where explosive devices were recovered. Pratt’s mother and his brother both identified him in surveillance video from the night of the fire.

[snip]

Pratt, who was in a hospital in Marion County, called his mother during the investigation at his home and he spoke over the phone to investigators.
He admitted that on the night of the fire, he sat in his car in a nearby parking lot, watching with binoculars to ensure everyone had left the lodge. Carrying a gas can, he walked to the front door and used a baseball bat to smash it. He poured gasoline throughout the building and used matches to light a fire. He left the building and drove away, but returned a few minutes later to make sure the fire was still burning. He left a second time, went home and went to bed. 

According to WFTV-9, Investigators said they found five powerful, homemade explosive devices in Pratt’s home that he originally planned to use, but ultimately decided it was “too dangerous.” 

Deputies said Pratt’s mother contacted them after she found the explosive devices. They said Pratt admitted to his mother that he set the fire, and then admitted the same to deputies later on. “The detectives say he showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever and I believe he even stated he would do it again if he had the chance,” said Lt. John Herrell, with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

As to his motive, Pratt told police he is “mad at what the Masonic Lodge stands for” and said he believed they had been following him. Investigators obtained a search warrant that led to the discovery of journals that details Pratt’s “dislike for the Masonic Lodge.”

 

So, in (allegedly) acting upon his (alleged) delusions, Pratt has (allegedly) reduced to ashes what Leesburg's Brethren spent years building and creating — Masonic lodges dedicated to faith, hope, charity, and the brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of God.

Because he didn't like what it stood for.

"The ruthless hand of ignorance."

Some men can only destroy what better men before them have built.