The U.S. Attorney’s office filed federal hate crime charges following the break-in and destruction of property at an Islamic center on the Rutger’s campus in New Jersey.
The Hill reports authorities arrested Jacob Beacher, 24, Monday for the incident during Eid-al-Fitr, a celebration signifying the end of Ramadan.
Prosecutors accuse Beacher of damaging several religious artifacts during the burglary of a charity box at the center. Campus officials estimated the damage at $40,000, reported WHYY.
Beacher has denied breaking into the center, but acknowledged he is the person seen on surveillance video.
“This crime didn’t occur in a vacuum,” said Kaiser Aslam, the Muslim chaplain at Rutgers. “It occurred at a time in which Muslims and Palestinians in particular are being dehumanized. It’s good to see that when a crime is motivated by something like this, that it is tried to the full extent as it should be and taken as seriously as it should be.”
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