FLORIDA — Sheriff’s deputies in Polk County, Fla., arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr., 44, each on a felony charge of unlawful conveyance of fuel, after pulling the two men over in a pickup truck that had been carrying close to 3,000 Qurans. 

Jones had said he was heading to a nearby park in Mulberry to burn the Qurans on Wednesday, September 12, to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Sheriff’s officials said that Jones was also charged with unlawful open-carry of a firearm, a misdemeanor.

Mulberry’s mayor, along with area elected officials, a sheriff’s deputy and several Polk County residents have talked about the need to express love and tolerance for all faiths on Sept. 11.

Jones is the pastor of a small evangelical Christian church. He first gained attention in 2010, when he planned to burn a Quran on the anniversary of 9/11, although he eventually called it off. His congregation did burn the Muslim holy book in March 2011 and last year he promoted an anti-Muslim film. All three incidents sparked violence in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge in Michigan issued a summary judgment in favor of Jones and his organization, Stand Up America Now, against the City of Dearborn for requiring Jones and his organization to sign a City-issued agreement in order to speak on public property in front of a Dearborn mosque in 2012.

On the same day of Jones’ arrest, about 75 people gathered in his hometown of Mulberry, for an interfaith prayer service to counter his actions.