Man faces hate crime charge for allegedly threatening neighbors
A Columbus man is facing a federal hate crime charge after allegedly shouting anti-semitic slurs and threats at two of his Olde Towne East neighbors.
A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. District for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus also alleges that Douglas G. Schifer, 65, of Franklin Avenue, broke a window and spat at neighbors. The incidents occurred last November.
Schifer had an initial appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Preston Deavers on a misdemeanor count of criminal interference with right to fair housing, which carries a potential sentence of up to 12 months in prison.
According to court documents, the incidents occurred on Nov. 7, when neighbors reported that Schifer yelled an array of obscenities and threats, including pejorative terms for Jewish people.
Neighbors told investigators that Schifer yelled: “… Hitler should have gassed you,” “I’m going to shoot your and your dogs,” and “That’s why he put you people in furnaces,” among other things. That evening, as the neighbors were watching television in their living room, a window on their home was broken, according to documents.
In a phone interview with a Columbus police detective a few days later, Schifer denied threatening to shoot his neighbors, making anti-semitic comments or breaking the window, though he “offered to pay for the window,” according to documents.
Schifer declined to talk to an FBI investigator in late January. About an hour after that attempted interview, he lodged a building and zoning complaint with the city of Columbus against his neighbors, alleging they had turned a garage into a living quarters without proper permits, according to documents.
Sam Shamansky, the Columbus attorney representing Schifer, said his client planned to plead not guilty and was released from custody Thursday afternoon.
“People often say hurtful, meanspirited things that they don’t mean,” Shamansky said. “To the extent that any of the anti-semitic statements that are allegedly attributed to my client are true, he’s extremely remorseful that anybody’s feelings were hurt.” mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog