Hate crimes charges against man accused in Hanukkah stabbing

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By RYAN TARINELLI, JIM MUSTIAN and LARRY NEUMEISTER

MONSEY, N.Y. (AP) — Handwritten journals containing references to Jews and anti-Semitism were found in the home of a man charged with federal hate crimes Monday in the stabbing of five people celebrating Hanukkah in a rabbi’s house north of New York City, authorities said.

Grafton E. Thomas, 37, was expected to appear in federal court in White Plains to face five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon and causing injuries.

The attack on the seventh night of Hanukkah occurred amid a series of violent attacks targeting Jews in the region that have led to increased security, particularly around religious gatherings.

A criminal complaint said law enforcement agents recovered the journals from his Greenwood Lake, N.Y., residence that included comments such as questioning “why ppl mourned for anti-Semitism when there is Semitic genocide” and a page with drawings of a Star of David and a Swastika.



Grafton Thomas is led from Ramapo Town Hall in Ramapo, N.Y. following his arraignment Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. Thomas was charged in the stabbings of multiple people as they gathered to celebrate Hanukkah at a rabbi's home in Monsey, an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City. (Seth Harrison/The Journal News via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/b8cf2a50b8b5085a8677a6c6df9f8360

[regnaD kciN]

1. He's black, so obviously an anti-semitic hate crime...

...whereas, if he had been white, "clearly, he must have been mentally-ill" and "in the end, we'll probably never understand why he did what he did."

[maxsolomon]

2. where are you getting that?

can you explain your contention - that racial bias plays a role in the charges?

just from that picture, it looks to me like "he's mentally ill and we'll probably never understand why he did what he did", AND it's an anti-Semitic hate crime. it can be both.

[BaronChocula]

3. It's a demonstration of how race taints narrative

Especially in media outlets that cater to white cons.

[maxsolomon]

4. I don't see a recent counter example

where a clear hate crime committed by a White person is dismissed as such. But I don't consume Right Wing news, so maybe I'm just naïve.

I don't want to pound this point, but nothing was "demonstrated" about how "race taints narrative" here. It was more like knee-jerk speculation by the OP.

[EllieBC]

5. What?

He’s a fucking anti-semite. People sure are afraid to call anyone that except a white supremacist lately. Those of us who are Jewish know the people that hate us can look like anyone.

[oldsoftie]

10. People who accept reality are on your side. But there are always excusers.

The Jews never do a damn thing but get up & go to work like the rest of us.
Its a shame people have this stupid fear & hatred of people who are probably the LEAST likely to be a threat to them.

[hardluck]

6. "The suspect in the New York Hanukkah celebration stabbings has 'long history of mental illness'"

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/us/monsey-stabbing-suspect-grafton-thomas/index.html

He's mentally ill said the family

https://www.recordonline.com/news/20191230/pastor-stabbing-suspect-gentle-giant-with-mental-illness

"A gentle giant with mental illness."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/30/monsey-stabbing-grafton-thomas-suspect/

"Thomas’s family has said the suspect has 'no known history of anti-Semitism' and attributed any responsibility in Saturday’s rampage in the New York suburb of Monsey to 'profound mental illness.'"

The Rev. Wendy Paige, who is Thomas' pastor, was stunned by news of his violent actions. To Paige, Thomas was always "a gentle giant with mental illness," she said.

He is a vegan and a "germophobe" who incessantly washes his hands, Paige said.

"He's very introverted," she told reporters at a Monday news conference, adding, "Very simple."

Asked what might have spurred Thomas' alleged rampage, Sussman said perhaps hallucinations. "One might say demons," he added.

He called Thomas' journals "the ramblings of a disturbed individual, but there is no suggestion in any of those ramblings and pages of writing of an anti-Semitic motive."

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/792363007/hanukkah-stabbing-suspect-has-mental-health-past-no-link-to-hate-groups-family-s

Seems to undercut your assumptions....

[oldsoftie]

9. Horseshit. "Suspect in Hanukkah Stabbing Had Anti-Semitic Journals: Prosecutors"

But you go ahead and keep covering for criminals if they're a certain race.

"On his phone, officers allegedly found searches for “Why did Hitler hate the Jews” on Nov. 9, Dec. 3, Dec. 7, and Dec. 6. They also found searches for “Roman Jewish Temples near me” last month and “Zionist Temples of Staten Island” on Dec. 18. Most recently, his phone’s internet browser was used on Dec. 28, the night of the attack, to read an article titled: “New York City Increases Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Possible Anti-Semitic Attacks. Here’s What To Know.” "


https://www.thedailybeast.com/grafton-thomas-suspect-in-hanukkah-stabbing-in-new-york-had-anti-semitic-journals-prosecutors-say

[onenote]

11. I guess you weren't aware that hate crime charges

were brought against the Pittsburgh and Poway synagogue shooters- both white males.

[Quackers]

12. He attacked a Jewish family

After researching locations where to find them near him, and also why Hitler hated Jews. How do you think this isn’t a hate crime against Jewish people?

[progree]

8. Acting immigration chief blamed the stabbing on amnesty laws for "illegal immigrants"

Trump's acting immigration chief blamed the stabbing at a rabbi's New York home on amnesty laws for 'illegal immigrants', Business Insider, 12/30/19

In a now-deleted Monday tweet, acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli blamed a Saturday stabbing at a rabbi's home in New York on illegal immigration and amnesty laws.

... Cuccinelli tweeted that Grafton Thomas, the accused assailant, is "the US citizen son of an illegal alien who got amnesty under the 1986 law amnesty law for illegal immigrants," adding, "apparently, American values did not take hold in this family, at least this one violent and apparently bigoted son." ... In a now-deleted Monday tweet

Cuccinelli was appointed as the acting director of USCIS in May 2019, where has faced criticism for trying to expedite asylum proceedings and for introducing a controversial "public charge" rule that would deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to take advantage of public benefits like food stamps, Medicaid, and public housing.

... His efforts included introducing a joint resolution to call for Congress to convene a constitutional convention to amend the 14th amendment of the US Constitution to eliminate birthright citizenship and only extend citizenship to people born in the US who have at least one US citizen parent.

... Cuccinelli also introduced a draconian bill that would have allowed Virginia companies to fire employees for speaking a language other than English in the workplace and disqualify them from receiving unemployment benefits.

The above is from: https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-acting-immigration-chief-blamed-181542816.html
which has even more on CuckooNelli, who obviously has mental health issues of his own as well as a total lack of American values.

I wonder why the tweet was deleted? I can't believe CuckooNelli, or anyone in the Trump admin was embarrassed by this in the least.