2 Men Arrested in Threats to New York Jewish Community, Police Say
Two men were arrested for allegedly making threats against a New York City Jewish community last week, a police spokesman said Friday.
A man wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt and dark pants left a threatening note in the mailbox of the Chabad Lubavitch of Manhattan, then went to a police station and told police that the threats were made to intimidate people of the Jewish faith, according to New York Police Department spokesman Detective John Miller. Police traced the letter to the Chabad of New York, Miller said.
Miller said the man was not seen leaving the Chabad. The man made comments to the effect that the threats were made to intimidate, which is a hate crime under New York law. Miller said there is no indication that anyone was injured by the threats.
In addition to an arrest, Miller said, law enforcement is investigating if the threats may have been linked to two attacks in New York and New Jersey in recent weeks. In both cases, Jewish residents said they have received phone calls and text messages claiming responsibility for the attacks. In both cases, there was no indication that a group had committed the crime, Miller said.
The Chabad of Manhattan was founded in 1898. Miller said the man who left the threatening note to the Chabad told police that he had come to the Jewish community to express his anti-Semitic views.
Miller said the Chabad of Manhattan is located in the 100 block of North Sixth Avenue between Amsterdam and Madison Streets. Anyone with information about the incidents is encouraged to call the police department at (212) 243-5300.
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