A man with ties to white supremacist groups has pleaded guilty to setting a fire that destroyed an office at a historic social justice center in Tennessee. Regan Prater entered the plea on Monday in connection with the 2019 arson at the Highlander Research and Education Center, an organization recognized for its significant role in the U.S. civil rights movement.

The fire occurred on March 29, 2019, and caused more than $1.2 million in damage. While no injuries were reported, the blaze destroyed decades’ worth of irreplaceable materials, including artifacts and documents related to civil rights history. The Highlander Center is notable for having hosted key figures like Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Parks attended a workshop there in 1955 that helped shape her activism prior to her famous bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, and returned two years later alongside King for the school’s 25th anniversary.

Prater’s arrest came in April 2025, over six years after the fire. Federal prosecutors linked him to the crime through his involvement in white supremacist group chats and corroborated his role with screenshots provided by a witness. In one message, an individual believed to be Prater acknowledged the use of a "sparkler bomb and some Napalm" to start the fire, though initially denying responsibility. Authorities also noted the presence of a white-power symbol, described as a “triple cross,” spray-painted near the scene—a symbol associated with the Christchurch mosque shooter’s firearm incident just weeks earlier in March 2019.

In addition to the arson charge, Prater pleaded guilty to attempting to provide the militant group Hezbollah with a list of individuals purportedly affiliated with the Israeli government. This charge, detailed in a criminal information filed in February, led to the dismissal of the earlier arson indictment in favor of the new combined charges. The government agreed in a plea deal that a sentence of up to 20 years would be suitable. Prater’s sentencing is scheduled for September 9 in Knoxville.

Prater has a prior conviction related to a 2019 fire at an adult video and novelty store in eastern Tennessee, for which he served five years in federal prison and was ordered to pay restitution exceeding $100,000. Investigators connected him to that incident after finding a cellphone with video evidence of the arson.

Public defender representatives for Prater had not responded to requests for comment. The case continues to highlight the ongoing threat posed by extremist violence targeting organizations associated with social justice and civil rights.