❚ Federal hate crime charges
filed against suspect in Hanukkah attack.
MONSEY, N.Y. – Federal hate crimes charges were filed Monday against a man accused of stabbing five people with a machete at a Hanukkah party at a rabbi’s home, an attack that left the Jewish community reeling.
The stabbing in Monsey follows a string of violence targeting Jewish people in the New York and New Jersey area in recent weeks.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there were at least 13 incidents of antiSemitism in the state in the past few weeks.
Monsey also was the scene of an attack Nov. 20 when a 30-year-old rabbi was stabbed on his way to a synagogue just before dawn.
A handwritten journal containing references to Jews and anti-Semitism was found in the home of Grafton E. Thomas, 37, who has been charged with federal hate crimes.
Thomas 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 attack Saturday.
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 bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
A criminal complaint said law enforcement agents recovered the journals from his residence in Greenwood Lake, New York, that included comments such as questioning “why ppl mourned for anti-Semitism when there is Semitic genocide” and a page with drawings of a Star of David and a swastika.
Internet searches on a phone recovSussman ered from his car included repeated 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.
On Dec. 28, the phone’s internet browser 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,” the complaint said.
Thomas pleaded not guilty Sunday morning to five counts of second-degree attempted intentional murder and one count of second-degree burglary. He is due back in court Friday unless he is indicted by a grand jury.
Officials believe Thomas acted alone, Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco said.
Thomas was taken into custody by the New York Police Department after a traffic stop in Harlem. Officials said his clothing was covered in blood and he smelled of bleach.
Thomas’ family, through lawyer Michael Sussman, issued a statement late Sunday evening confirming his history of mental illness and requesting that seek an immediate mental health evaluation.
“He has no known history of antiSemitism and was raised in a home which embraced and respected all religions and races. He is not a member of any hate groups,” the statement said
Two of the victims were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital and three were taken to Westchester Medical Center. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the rabbi’s son was among those injured and another person was in critical condition with a fractured skull.
Cuomo called the stabbings “an act of domestic terrorism.” He directed the New York State Police to increase patrols in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods across the state “out of an abundance of caution,” he said in a statement published on social media Sunday.
President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon referring to the stabbings as an “anti-Semitic attack.” “We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism,” he tweeted.