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Suspect Charged With Hate Crimes in Hasidic Stabbing Attack Near NYC

VOA News

   U.S. prosecutors filed federal hate crimes charges Monday against a man
   who is charged with stabbing five Hasidic Jews during a Hanukkah
   celebration near New York City.

   According to Monday's federal complaint, investigators found journals
   from the residence of suspect Grafton Thomas containing drawings of a
   Swastika and the Star of David. Detectives also found internet searches
   on Thomas' phone that included "Why did Hitler hate the Jews" and
   "German Jewish temples near me."

   The day of Saturday's attack, the seventh night of Hanukkah, Thomas'
   phone was used to access an article titled "New York City Increases
   Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Possible Anti-Semitic
   Attacks. Here's What To Know," according to the criminal complaint.

   Thomas' family has denounced the crime and said Thomas was raised to
   embrace tolerance. "Grafton Thomas has a long history of mental illness
   and hospitalizations. He has no history of like violent acts," the
   family said in a statement late Sunday.

   Thomas pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Sunday on five
   counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. He made no
   comment during his arraignment. A judge set bail at $5 million and
   Grafton remains in jail.

   Grafton allegedly burst into the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg in
   Monsey, a New York suburb home to a large Orthodox Jewish community on
   Saturday night.

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