TN Arsonist Pleads Guilty to Bombing Historic Civil Rights Center

Regan Prater admits to targeting Highlander Center in New Market with a sparkler bomb in 2019 attack.

Mar. 18, 2026 at 10:44pm

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Regan D. Prater, a 28-year-old Tullahoma man with white supremacist ties, has agreed to plead guilty to charges related to a 2019 firebombing that destroyed the administrative offices of the historic Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee. Prater admitted to breaking into the center, setting a napalm-based sparkler bomb that caused over $1.3 million in damage, and spray-painting a symbol of the Romanian Nazi Party on the property.

Why it matters

The Highlander Center has been a hub for civil rights and social justice education since the 1930s, training leaders like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. This attack targeted an institution with deep ties to the American civil rights movement, raising concerns about the ongoing threat of white supremacist violence against communities of color and their allies.

The details

According to the plea agreement, Prater drove from his home to the Highlander Center in March 2019, broke into the main administrative building, and set off a sparkler bomb that started a fire destroying the building. Prater targeted the center due to his white supremacist beliefs and its association with the civil rights movement. Before the attack, he also spray-painted the symbol of the Romanian Nazi Party's paramilitary arm on the Highlander parking lot.

  • On March 29, 2019, Prater carried out the firebombing attack on the Highlander Center.
  • In October 2019, Prater attempted to provide personal information of over 35,000 individuals purportedly affiliated with the Israeli government to Hezbollah.

The players

Regan D. Prater

A 28-year-old Tullahoma man who has aligned himself with white supremacist causes and is responsible for the firebombing of the Highlander Center in 2019.

Highlander Center

A historic civil rights and social justice education center in New Market, Tennessee that has trained leaders of the American civil rights movement since the 1930s.

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What they’re saying

“I'm not admitting anything”

— Rooster

“a sparkler bomb and some Napalm”

— Rooster

What’s next

No court date has been set yet for Prater to appear before U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan, who will impose a sentence. As part of the plea agreement, both sides agree Prater should get a sentence of no more than 20 years in prison.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing threat of white supremacist violence against civil rights institutions and the communities they serve. It underscores the need for continued vigilance and action to combat hate-motivated extremism in all its forms.