The Ithaca Police Department (IPD) said a hate crime suspect is no longer in the community after items consistent with explosives were found in the suspect’s home, as well as rifle parts at a separate undisclosed location.
The IPD received a criminal mischief complaint Oct. 20 at a local chiropractor’s office, according to the Ithaca Voice. An anti-Semitic slur was written on an “End White Silence” sign outside the chiropractor’s office. There were several other reports of anti-Semitic and racist posters, graffiti and vandalism made to the IPD in the following days, according to a press release Oct. 29. According to the press release, the IPD identified the suspect Oct. 27 and they will be charged with multiple counts of criminal mischief in the fourth degree as a hate crime.
“We know that these symbols are meant to terrorize and are often the precursor to physical violence,” Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick said in a statement Oct. 27 on his Twitter.
Moosewood Restaurant and Sunny Days of Ithaca were both vandalized the night of Oct. 24, according to the Ithaca Voice. An anti-Semitic and racist poster was glued over a Black Lives Matter sign on a window of Moosewood and an anti-Semitic poster was hung on the front door of Sunny Days, as well as crosshairs graffiti on the windows. The crosshairs are a Celtic cross used by white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The IPD executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence and found evidence of more hate posters and materials consistent with explosives. The materials included caps, a timer, fuse wire, tubing and an undisclosed amount of powdered chemical. Rifle parts were also found at another location.
The IPD was assisted by the New York State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Ithaca College Jewish Student Union (JSU) released a statement Oct. 28 condemning the anti-Semitic and racist vandalism.
“Though the recent attacks did not include any forms of physical bodily harm, both depict the evil, socially targeted hatred that must be met with education, justice and allyship,” the JSU executive board said in the statement.
Charges will be filed soon, according to the IPD press release.
