Authorities have arrested the man they imagine threw a Molotov cocktail at a New Jersey synagogue over the weekend, federal prosecutors introduced on Wednesday.
U.S. Lawyer Philip R. Sellinger mentioned Nicholas Malindretos, 26, from Clifton, N.J. was captured on surveillance video lighting the makeshift explosive on fireplace and throwing it at the door of Temple Ner Tamid Jewish Congregation in Bloomfield. He was charged with one rely of tried use of fireplace to wreck and destroy a constructing utilized in interstate commerce.
“No one should find that their lives are at risk by exercising their faith,” Sellinger mentioned. “The defendant is alleged to have gone to a synagogue in the middle of the night and maliciously attempted to damage and destroy it using a firebomb. Protecting communities of faith and houses of worship is core to this office’s mission.”
If convicted, Malindretos faces as much as 20 years in jail and a fantastic of $250,000.
Authorities tracked down Malindretos partially by way of video of his automobile, which was captured by a license studying machine close to the synagogue shortly earlier than and after the incident, prosecutors mentioned. After seeing a number of objects according to the surveillance video contained in the automobile, they obtained a search warrant for the automobile.
Lawyer info for Malindretos was not instantly accessible.
The Essex County Sheriff’s Workplace on Wednesday put up a $10,000 reward for any info that will result in an arrest. It was not clear if that decision to the general public contributed to the arrest.
New Jersey recorded 370 antisemitic incidents final yr, making it the second highest quantity recorded in any state throughout the nation after New York, in line with the civil rights group that fights antisemitism, the Anti-Defamation League.
Elizabeth Shwe contributed reporting.