New York stabbings: Suspect in rabbi home attack charged with federal hate crimes

New York mayor says ‘crisis’ of antisemitism partly result of social media and partly ‘reality of Washington DC’

The man accused of forcing his way to the home of a rabbi and stabbing Jewish people during a Hanukkah celebration, has been charged with federal hate crimes.

As five people wounded in the attack – at least one of them grievously – recovered from their injuries, and New York mayor Bill de Blasio announced measures intended to combat a “crisis” of antisemitic assaults, federal authorities filed additional charges against the suspect.

Grafton Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake, New York, had already been charged with attempted murder, a charge to which he pleaded not guilty. He is being held in jail with a bail of $5m.

On Monday, the 37-year-old was charged by federal authorities with five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill.

The additional charges came as authorities claimed that when they searched the suspect’s home, they had found handwritten journals containing references to Jews and antisemitism.

Court documents said the materials found at the property, included comments such as questioning “why ppl mourned for anti-semitism when there is semitic genocide”. It said they also contained a page with drawings of a Star of David and a Swastika.

The attack, which prompted Donald Trump to call for unity to fight the “scourge” of antisemitism, was carried out in the home of an orthodox rabbi, Chaim Rottenberg, as he and members of the hassidic community in the town of Monsey, marked the seventh night of Hanukkah.

Mr Thomas’s lawyer, Michael Sussman, issued a statement on behalf of his family which said Mr Thomas had “a long history of mental illness and hospitalisations”.

“He has no history of like violent acts and no convictions for any crime,” it said. “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.”

Despite those claims, the charging documents filed by officials said they found journals containing purportedly anti-Jewish comments.

The Washington Post said police also recovered items from Mr Thomas’ car, including a machete, which appeared to have traces of dried blood. They also found a phone that is said to have been used to search the internet with for phrases such as “German Jewish Temples near me” and “Why did Hitler hate the Jews”.

A day before the attacks, Mr de Blasio had announced extra police patrols in three areas of Brooklyn with large Jewish populations following a spate of antisemitic incidents.

On Monday, the told NPR: “We consider this a crisis. Really, there is a growing antisemitism problem in this whole country. It has taken a more and more violent form.”

The mayor did not identify by name Mr Trump, who has been widely accused of using divisive and sometimes racist rhetoric, but said: “Some of that has to do with the reality of Washington. Some of it has to do with social media.”

He told the public broadcaster that when schools resumed classes later this week, officials had been directed to undertake an “intensified curriculum” focused on antisemitism.

The charging document alleges Mr Thomas covered his face with a scarf, entered the rabbi’s home and said: “No one is leaving.”

It said he then took out machete and started stabbing and slashing people in the home packed with dozens of people. It said of the five people who were hurt, at least one victim was in critical condition with a skull fracture.

Mr Thomas was arrested within two hours of the Saturday night attack. 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.

Additional reporting by Associated Press