CNN
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A 36-year-old California man has been charged with hate crime and harassment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office after he allegedly threatened a Jewish man on a New York City subway.

This incident took place at night major protests In front of a Manhattan exhibit commemorating the victims of the Hamas attack on an Israeli music festival on October 7 last year.

Accordingly prosecutor’s officeWhile on a New York City subway train on June 10, Christopher Husary damaged the door of a train car bearing an anti-Semitic symbol. The victim, wearing a Jewish yarmulke, took a photo of the graffiti (a red inverted triangle), made antisemitic remarks and said, “Hey, there’s a Zionist here,” before demanding that Husary delete the photo. and the DA’s office said, “We will find you, and there will be consequences.”

Anti-Defamation League He points out that red inverted triangles were used by Hamas’ military wing to mark Israeli military targets in the recent Gaza conflict.

CNN has reached out to Husary’s attorney, Nathan Peterson, for comment.

According to data from the ADL, there has been an increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

latest data The organization, which has been tracking anti-Semitic incidents in the USA since 1979, found that there was a 140% increase in incidents from 2022 to 2023, and a “dramatic” increase after October 7. NYPD dataIn the first nine months of 2024, there were 496 hate crime incidents in New York, 276 of which involved Jewish targets.

The victim got off the subway at the next stop and reported the incident to police about two weeks later, on June 22, according to the New York City Police Department.

New York City police arrested Husary in Northern California just after he was sentenced to 364 days in county jail and two years probation after pleading guilty to a charge of robbery with hate crime for using force and intimidating a woman holding an Israeli gun. Flag during demonstration about Israel-Hamas war.

He will begin serving his sentence on January 2 Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

“Everyone has the right to express their beliefs under the First Amendment, and we deeply admire those who bravely defended their rights despite the defendant’s attempts to silence them,” said Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton. “The First Amendment does not protect people who threaten others, cause injury, intimidate, or damage property.”