TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — A Tarrant County jury has convicted 30-year-old Raunaq Alam of criminal mischief for spray-painting graffiti on the walls of Uncommon Church in Euless , but jurors rejected prosecutors’ attempt to elevate the case to a felony hate crime.

Alam, who describes himself as an activist, admitted the thought of being convicted of a felony was frightening.

“I've never been convicted of a felony before. Just the thought of that was really scary,” Alam said.

Surveillance video from March 2024 reportedly showed Alam and two others spray-painting anti-Israel messages on the church. Alam has called the graffiti an act of free speech.

“You should be able to criticize your own government or criticize a foreign government when they're enacting policies that are morally wrong,

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