(The Lion) — A convert to Islam has pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge after decapitating religious statues at a Catholic church earlier this year, according to a statement by the Department of Justice.

“The violent destruction of religious property due to hatred for another’s faith is both intolerable and un-American,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division.

“The Department of Justice stands firmly against anti-Christian bias and will hold accountable anyone who targets Americans because of their religious beliefs.”

Prosecutors say Marley R. Taylor, 27, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was motivated by his belief parishioners were improperly worshipping an image.

But the DOJ omitted in its statement that Taylor’s religious motivation was driven by a general Muslim ban on the use of statues to aid in worship.

In fact, the DOJ never mentions Islam at all in its press release on Taylor.

Instead, The Lion conducted a routine online search of Taylor’s background and came up with an X account that shows he goes by the name of Lil Akhi and appears to be a recent convert to Islam.

“All praises and thanks be to The God,” Akhi writes. “Exalted and Glorified is He. May Allah Almighty grant you ease towards righteousness.”

The X account is filled with images of Hamas terrorism propaganda and features one video of someone he claims is a captured Israeli soldier kissing his Hamas captor before his release.

Much of Taylor’s X account is devoted to recruitment and conversion to Islam.

Taylor admitted in federal court to deliberately damaging the marble statues of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus outside Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in downtown Hopkinsville, said the DOJ.

Prosecutors said Taylor struck the statues with an axe on two consecutive nights in late January, severing both heads.

At the time, local media called Taylor a vandal, or reported him simply as a “Hopkinsville man,” although it’s clear from the context of his X account and his mug shot that he’s likely an Islamic fundamentalist.

The church supplied authorities with surveillance video of Taylor beheading the statues, which led to his identification.

According to the plea agreement, Taylor told investigators he targeted the statues because he believed people prayed to them as an act of worship, an act he said he viewed as improper.

The statues were hand carved in Italy, imported for the church and valued at more than $35,000. They were dedicated to the memory of a parishioner and a priest who are now deceased, reported local media.

Federal prosecutors charged Taylor under statutes criminalizing intentional damage to religious property.

“Mr. Taylor not only intentionally and severely damaged two religious statues at a place of worship, but by doing so, he also violated a key principle of our nation, the freedom of all to express religious beliefs afforded under the U.S. Constitution,” said Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office.

Because Taylor’s offense was aimed at property and not to people, he avoided a charge under federal hate crimes statutes.

He faces up to three years in federal prison, along with restitution of at least $35,935 to replace the damaged statue, if the court accepts the plea agreement. Sentencing is set for March 10.

Church officials did not comment publicly on the plea.

The case underscores increased scrutiny of crimes targeting houses of worship, which have seen heightened attacks in recent years across Judeo-Christian communities.