Man faces hate crime charges
Journals found in New York suspect’s home contain anti-Semitic language
MONSEY, N.Y. — Handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references were found in the home of the man charged with federal hate crimes Monday in the stabbing and slashing of five people celebrating Hanukkah at a rabbi’s house north of New
York City, authorities said.
Grafton E. Thomas, 37, was held without bail after appearing in federal court in White Plains on five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon and causing injuries in the Saturday attack. Authorities said a bloodstained 18-inch machete was recovered
from his car.
The bearded Thomas, his ankles shackled, shuffled into the courtroom in a prison jumpsuit, telling a judge who asked him if his head was clear that he was “not clear at all” and needed sleep. But he added: “I am coherent.”
His court-appointed attorney, Susanne Brody, said Thomas has issues with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The stabbings on the seventh night of Hanukkah come amid a series of violent attacks targeting Jews in the region that have led to increased security, particularly around religious gatherings.
A criminal complaint said journals recovered from Thomas’ home in Greenwood Lake included comments questioning “why ppl mourned for antiSemitism when there is Semitic genocide” and a page with drawings of a Star of David and a swastika.
A phone recovered from his car included repeated internet searches for “Why did Hitler hate the Jews” as well as “German Jewish Temples near me” and “Prominent companies founded by Jews in America,” the complaint said.
Defense attorney Michael Sussman told reporters he visited Thomas’ home and found stacks of notes he described as “the ramblings of a disturbed individual” but nothing to point to an “anti-Semitic motive” or suggest Thomas “intentionally targeted” the rabbi’s home.
“My impression from speaking with him is that he needs serious psychiatric evaluation,” Sussman said. “His explanations were not terribly coherent.”
Thomas’ family said he was raised to embrace tolerance but has a long history of mental illness, including multiple hospitalizations.
“He has no history of violent acts and no convictions for any crime,” his family said in a statement. “He has no known history of anti-Semitism and was raised in a home which embraced and respected all religions and races. He is not a member of any hate groups.”
In a release, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said Thomas “targeted his victims in the midst of a religious ceremony, transforming a joyous Hanukkah celebration into a scene of carnage and pain.”
Thomas served in the Marines and was president of his class at a high school in Queens, Sussman said. He attended William Paterson University between 2005 and 2007, the university confirmed, where he played football as a walkon running back.
Thomas’ family said his mental health deteriorated over the years. He would hear voices and have trouble completing sentences at times, Sussman said.
In court papers filed in a 2013 eviction case in Utah, Thomas said he suffered from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety and his “conditions are spontaneous and untamed.”
Thomas was arrested within two hours of the Saturday night attack in Monsey. When police pulled his car over in Manhattan, he had blood all over his clothing and smelled of bleach but said “almost nothing” to the arresting officers, officials said.
The criminal complaint said authorities recovered a machete under the front passenger seat that appeared to have traces of dried blood on it; a knife recovered from the rear of the seat appeared to have dried blood and hair on it.
According to the complaint, Thomas, a scarf covering his face, entered the rabbi’s home next door to a synagogue and said “no one is leaving.” He then took out a machete and started stabbing and slashing people in the home packed with dozens of congregants, the complaint said.
The five victims suffered serious injuries and at least one was in critical condition with a skull fracture, the complaint said. The rabbi’s son was also injured.
On Sunday, Thomas pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary.