A woman living was convicted by a federal jury in Montgomery on arson and other charges for setting fire to the city’s historic First Baptist Church two years ago, prosecutors said Thursday.

Xiaoqin Yan, a 29-year-old Chinese national, was also convicted of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, said Sandra J. Stewart, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.

Montgomery firefighters were able to extinguish the Sept. 30, 2021 blaze, but not before the church sustained significant damage, prosecutors said.

According to court records, Yan is a citizen of China who was in the U.S. on a student visa. Her visa had been revoked after arrest on Oct. 4, 2021.

Surveillance videos taken from inside the church the day before the fire showed a woman carrying duffel bags and a plastic bag into the church during its Wednesday night service, prosecutors said.

Just after 2 a.m. on the day of the fire, the video showed the same woman removing silver containers from one of the bags and igniting multiple fires around the building.

Investigators identified a vehicle used by the suspect and obtained a tag number linking the vehicle to Yan, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement officers also learned that First Baptist Church employees encountered someone matching Yan’s description on the church campus on multiple occasions before the fire was set. In one encounter, Yan was escorted off the church property “due to her odd behavior.”

When Yan was arrested at a Montgomery home, agents found duffel bags identical to the ones seen in the church’s surveillance videos as well as clothing matching the type worn by the suspect.

Gas containers, starter logs and lighters were also found in the house along with a handgun.

Yan was in the United States illegally due to overstaying her non-immigrant visa, meaning she could not lawfully possess a firearm, prosecutors said.

She faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced.