Prosecutors in Manhattan have charged a 19-year-old with hate crimes in connection with a broomstick-handle attack against an Israeli Columbia University student.
Maxwell Friedman was charged Saturday with second- and third-degree assault as hate crimes over the Wednesday evening assault of a 24-year-old male student on Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus.
Police said the victim was putting up fliers that discussed the casualties from Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel when the suspect began ripping down the posters.
A friend of the victim told Columbia’s student newspaper, The Daily Spectator, that a group of students got into an argument with the suspect over removing the fliers, prompting the suspect to lash out.
“F—- you! F—- all of you prick crackers!” the suspect said, according to the criminal complaint. “I disrespected you. What are you going to do about it? Do you want to talk about it like adults? If you have a problem, we can deal with it right now.”
The suspect used a bandana as a face covering during the argument and struck the Israeli student with a wooden handle, which fractured one of the victim’s fingers.
The Daily Spectator reported that the suspect had approached the students earlier in the day to help post the fliers on campus.
The suspect was arrested Wednesday and granted supervised release during an arraignment a day later.
The suspect will return to court next month.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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