Man arrested in suspected arson attack against San Francisco Hillel
(JNS) — A suspect was arrested for an arson attack on Dec. 5 at the San Francisco Hillel.
A fire broke out at the Hillel, which, according to its website, serves all college campuses in the city, according to SF Hillel. It stated that while there were no injuries and the Torah scrolls were safe, the fire caused “significant damage to the basement and second-floor bathroom, along with most programming materials.”
Roger Feigelson, executive director of SF Hillel, stated on Dec. 16 in an email to community members, obtained by the Jewish News of Northern California, that the fire was determined to be arson and that a suspect was arrested.
Officer Robert Rueca, public information officer at the San Francisco Police Department, told JNS that “the preliminary investigation discovered evidence to believe that the fire was suspicious in nature and may have been intentionally started.”
Rueca confirmed on Tuesday that police did arrest a suspect, identified as Mitchell Hoyt, 36, of San Francisco.
“At this time, there is no probable cause to arrest Hoyt for a hate crime,” he said. “Although an arrest has been made, this remains an open and active investigation.”
Randy Quezada, spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, told JNS that “the case is under review” and that a “charging decision is due [Dec. 19].”
Reward increased to $57k for info on suspect in Missouri Jew-hatred crime
(JNS) — The police department of Clayton, Mo., which is adjacent to St. Louis, is offering an increased reward of $57,000 — up from $42,000 — for information leading to the arrest of the individual responsible for “intentionally setting fire to vehicles at a Jewish family’s home.”
On Aug. 5, officers discovered three vehicles had been intentionally damaged by fire and found antisemitic graffiti written in the roadway. The damaged vehicles belonged to family members of an American man who had just returned from military service in Israel.
Cpl. Jenny Schwartz, community services and public information officer at the Clayton Police Department, told JNS that “a crime of this magnitude is very rare” in the area.
“We’ve been actively working this investigation from the start. This is not something that we’ve let go cold,” she said.
“We want to reiterate that even the smallest, or what might seem to be the smallest, detail could be what helps us solve this crime,” she said.
Schwartz said the police department, in partnership with the FBI’s St. Louis field office, will be “recanvassing the neighborhood and surrounding area.”
The FBI is offering the recent $15,000 addition to the reward, which also includes $10,000 from the Jewish National Defense Network and $2,000 from St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers. Reward money from the Jewish Federation of St. Louis ($15,000) and the Anti-Defamation League ($15,000) will be paid only if a conviction is obtained.
South Carolina man charged with threats to ‘commit a mass shooting,’ target Jews
(JNS) — Federal agents arrested Lucas Brandon Rousso, 30, of Easley, S.C., and charged him with making online threats against Jews, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina said on Wednesday.
Rousso, who faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, appeared before a judge on Dec. 17 and had a detention hearing scheduled for Dec. 18, the Justice Department said.
Agents were told about an account on social media that was posting “threatening comments alluding to violence and harm, including the Jewish community,” which “escalated over the last few months,” the Justice Department said.
“Most recently, the defendant posted, ‘I’m going to commit a mass shooting,’” it alleges.
Investigators traced the account to Rousso’s IP address, email address and device, and when police interviewed him, he “stated he posted the comments to YouTube,” the Justice Department said.
A LinkedIn profile under the name Lucas Brandon Rousso, based in Easley, S.C., which has only two connections, states that the user is open to finding work and that he was or is an assembler at Collins Aerospace, a defense technology company. JNS sought comment from RTX, the parent company of Collins Aerospace.
4 members of pro-Palestinian group arrested for planning bombings across Los Angeles
(JTA) — Federal authorities have arrested four people in connection to an alleged plot to bomb locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve.
The four suspects — Audrey Ilene Carroll, 30, Dante Garfield, 24, Zachary Aaron Page, 32, and Tina Lai, 41 — are members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian far-left extremist group, according to the Department of Justice and FBI.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests in a post on social media on Monday, writing that the arrests had foiled what “would have been a massive and horrific terror plot in the Central District of California.”
“The Turtle Island Liberation Front — a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group — was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” wrote Bondi.
The group’s name is an Indigenous reference to the American continent, and the group promotes aggressive actions in support of decolonization.
“Peaceful protest will never be enough,” wrote the group in a recent social media post. “Free occupied Turtle Island from the illegal American empire. Free Palestine. Free Hawaii. Free Puerto Rico.”
Ben Shapiro denounces Tucker Carlson at Heritage, urges policing of conservative movement
(JTA) — Ben Shapiro walked onto a Heritage Foundation stage Wednesday week and used it to draw a line against Tucker Carlson and a strain of conservatism Shapiro warned is drifting toward conspiracy theories and antisemitism.
For a talk that lasted about an hour, Shapiro, one of the most prominent Jewish voices on the American right, denounced Carlson by name, arguing that the former Fox News host no longer belongs inside the conservative movement and urging the institution hosting him to enforce what he called “ideological border control.”
“A conservatism that treats Tucker Carlson as a thought leader is no conservatism,” Shapiro said. “If conservatives do not stand up and draw lines, conservatism and the dream of America itself will cease to exist.”
The speech was as notable for its venue as for its content. It was hosted by Kevin Roberts, Heritage’s president, who has come under fire in recent months for publicly defending Carlson. Roberts’ comments triggered resignations and criticism from Jewish leaders and former Heritage affiliates. Two more trustees of the foundation resigned this week over Roberts’ support for Carlson.
Despite the directness of Shapiro’s message, and his explicit call for Heritage to police the boundaries of the conservative movement, Roberts did not respond to the criticism or address antisemitism on the right during the event.
