An 18-year-old has been indicted for allegedly carrying out a hate crime against a Jewish man in Brooklyn in April, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said on Thursday.
Logan Jones, from the New York City borough of Staten Island, is facing charges of assault as a hate crime and other related offenses, including menacing and harassment, after attacking a man wearing traditional Hasidic attire who was on his way to a synagogue earlier this year.
According to the indictment, Jones and five other individuals approached the 21-year-old victim and his wife in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 1, 2022 at around 7:55 p.m., after the start of Shabbat, and began physically attacking him by punching his face and kicking him as he fell to the ground.
The assault, referred to in the indictment as “unprovoked,” was only stopped after the victim’s wife had asked a bystander to call 911 and the group of assailants fled the scene.
Attacks against Jews in Brooklyn often take place on Shabbat, when religious Jews do not carry cell phones, making it difficult to immediately report the incidents. Most antisemitic assaults in New York target ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are identifiable by their attire.
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The victim in the April attack suffered severe head and body pain, an abrasion to the cheek, and bruising to the face and mouth, the Attorney’s Office said.
“Without warning or provocation, this defendant allegedly assaulted an innocent man simply because of his Jewish faith,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “Crimes that target individuals because of their religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation are a threat to everything we stand for here in Brooklyn. We will now seek to hold the defendant accountable.”
WANTED for AN Assault in front of 58 Gerry Street. #Brooklyn @NYPD90pct on 4/1/22 @ 7:55 PM without and prior words or provocation, the individuals punched and kicked the Hasidic victim about the body, forcing him to the ground Reward up to $3500Call 1-800-577-TIPS. CONFIDENTIAL! pic.twitter.com/6W6kfQbU1d
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) April 2, 2022
Jones was brought before a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge last week. Bail was set at $30,000 and the defendant was ordered to return to court on June 24, 2022.
After the attack, the Anti-Defamation League said it was “shocked at the viciousness” of the assault, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was “outraged.”
Also in New York City, a suspected arson in Brooklyn last week is being investigated as a hate crime after investigators found red swastikas spray-painted on a hallway wall in the charred building, police said.
Antisemitic hate crimes in New York surged earlier this year, with 56 reported incidents in February compared to 11 during the same month last year, but were down slightly last month, with 25 anti-Jewish crimes in May, compared to 36 during the same time period in 2021. Antisemitic incidents spiked in May of last year during Israel’s conflict with Gaza terror groups.
Hate crimes in New York City as a whole rose 100% in 2021, which also saw an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
Jews are targeted in hate crimes in New York more than any other group, by far. Between January and the end of March this year, there were 67 confirmed anti-Jewish crimes, representing 47% of all hate crimes in the city, according to the NYPD.
Hate crimes usually do not lead to arrests in New York. The 198 confirmed hate crimes against Jews in New York last year only resulted in 58 arrests.