Grand Jury Indicts Grafton Thomas for Attacking Victims
Because of Their Jewish Religion
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of
the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced
today that GRAFTON THOMAS has been indicted by a federal grand jury with five
counts of willfully causing bodily injury to five victims because of the
victims’ religion and five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religion
in an attempt to kill, federal hate crimes, related to his machete attack
during Hanukkah observances at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, on the night
of December 28, 2019.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “On December 28, 2019, Grafton Thomas
allegedly came armed with an 18-inch machete and entered a rabbi’s home, where
dozens had gathered for the holiday. We
now allege that he did this with the intention of targeting his victims because
of their religion. As alleged, with his
face concealed beneath a scarf, he slashed and stabbed the assembled
congregants, fled, and left at least five victims in his wake. Thomas faces life in prison for his alleged
violent acts of prejudice and intolerance.”
Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband said: “Since before our founding as a nation and
ever since, this country has provided refuge for people from other parts of the
world who suffered violence and other forms of persecution because of their
right to believe and worship as they see fit.
The United States remains today a beacon of freedom for persecuted
religious people all over the world, and violent attacks against anyone because
of religion are both illegal and against everything our nation stands for. The United States Department of Justice will
continue to prosecute anyone who engages in such conduct to the fullest extent
of the law.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “When an individual’s actions cross the
threshold of a federal crime, as we allege Mr. Thomas did here, we will act
swiftly. The message from today’s
indictment should be crystal clear – the FBI won’t tolerate violence against
anyone. Working with our partners, we
will hold anyone who allegedly commits a crime like this accountable for their
actions. The federal penalties for this
type of attack are severe and justified.
In this instance, the local community was engaged, and their actions
were essential to saving lives and led directly to Mr. Thomas’s capture. It’s the rest of our community’s joint
responsibility to step up and engage as well – don’t give hate a platform to
propagate and don’t dismiss this type of behavior as someone else’s problem,
address it and immediately report suspicious activity to authorities.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and the
Complaint[[1]]:
On December 28, 2019, THOMAS entered a Rabbi’s home in
Monsey, New York, which is adjacent to the Rabbi’s synagogue, during
observances related to the end of Shabbat and the seventh night of
Hanukkah. THOMAS declared to dozens of
assembled congregants, “no one is leaving,” and attacked the group with an
18-inch machete. At least five victims
were hospitalized with serious injuries, including slash wounds, deep
lacerations, a severed finger, and a skull fracture.
Following the attack, Thomas traveled in a car to New York
City, and he was stopped in Harlem by members of the New York City Police
Department. The responding officers
observed what appeared to be blood on THOMAS’s hands and clothing, and smelled
bleach coming from his vehicle. A search
of THOMAS’s vehicle led to the seizure of, among other things, a machete that
appeared to have traces of dried blood on it.
Law enforcement subsequently searched THOMAS’s residence and cellphone
pursuant to warrants. The residence
contained handwritten journals with several pages of anti-Semitic references,
including references to “Adolf Hitler” and “Nazi Culture.” THOMAS’s cellphone contained Internet
searches dating back to at least November 2019 for terms such as “Zionist
Temples” in Staten Island and New Jersey, “why did Hitler hate the Jews,” and
“prominent companies founded by Jews in America,” as well as a webpage visit on
the day of the attack to an article titled, “New York Increases Police Presence
in Jewish Neighborhoods After Anti-Semitic Attacks. Here’s What to Know.”
*
* *
THOMAS, 37, is charged with five counts of willfully causing
bodily injury to, and attempting to kill, five victims because of their
religion in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 249, and five
counts of obstructing the free exercise of religion in an attempt to kill, in
violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 247. Each of the ten counts carries a maximum
prison term of life. The maximum
potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here
for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be
determined by a judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI, the
Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, the Ramapo Police Department, the
Rockland County Sherriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Clarkstown
Police Department, and the New York City Police Department, as well as the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and
International Narcotics Unit, its White Plains Division, and the Civil Rights
Unit of the Office’s Civil Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Krouse, Lindsey Keenan, and Lara K.
Eshkenazi are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations and the
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of
the texts of the Indictment and Complaint and the description of the Indictment
and Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations and every fact
described should be treated as an allegation.
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