Dec 30, 2019

Prosecutors charge Monsey stabbings suspect with federal hate crimes

Jacob Knutson

A Ramapo police officer stands guard in front of the house of a rabbi — A member of the Ramapo police stands guard in front of the house of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, Dec.29, Monsey, New York. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Prosecutors filed federal hate crime charges on Monday against 37-year-old Grafton Thomas — the suspect accused of stabbing five people in a Hasidic rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, during a Hanukkah celebration this weekend, the New York Times reports.

Details: Authorities said they recovered journals with anti-Semitic entries they believe belong to Thomas that included references to Adolf Hitler, "Nazi culture" and drawings of a Star of David and a swastika.

The criminal complaint against Thomas said the FBI recovered a phone they believe belonged to the suspect that had online searches with phrases like "Why did Hitler hate the Jews" and "German Jewish Temples near me."

The big picture: The attack was roughly the 13th anti-Semitic attack in the area in the past few weeks — as New Jersey Jewish communities are still reeling from a targeted attack on a kosher supermarket earlier this month.

Read the criminal complaint.

Go deeper: ADL official says the Jewish community is facing an "epidemic" in New York

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Prosecutors charge Monsey stabbings suspect with federal hate crimes

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