Hate crime charges filed in Manhattan synagogue attack
NEW YORK (AP) — Hate crime charges have been filed against a man who disrupted Shabbat services in Manhattan’s Central Synagogue and struck two people while being hustled outside Friday night. “As synagogue security was escorting him out, he struck a member of the congregation, damaged synagogue property, and then spit at and head-butted a member of the security team,” a…
In Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, a hate crime was committed during Shabbat services on Friday night, according to a police statement. The perpetrator, Larry Montes, 46, from the Bronx, disrupted the service and physically assaulted two individuals while being removed from the building. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reported that Montes struck a congregant, damaged synagogue property, spat at a security team member, and head-butted another.
Montes was promptly taken into custody by a police sergeant acting as a security detail. He faces charges including two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime. Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed horror at the incident, emphasizing that every New Yorker should be able to observe their religion without fear of violence.
State officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and Senator Chuck Schumer, voiced their condemnation of the attack. Additional police security was deployed, and Shabbat services resumed the following day. Rabbi Rebecca Thau of the congregation encouraged congregants to focus on the beauty of their liturgy and the sanctity of Shabbat amidst the unsettling nature of the world around them.
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