Suspect charged with hate crime, criminal mischief for vandalizing home of Jewish director of Brooklyn Museum, NYPD says

(CNN) — A suspect was arrested and charged with a hate crime in connection to the antisemitic vandalism of a Brooklyn art museum director’s home earlier this summer, the New York Police Department said Thursday.

Taylor Pelton, 28, from Queens, was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with criminal mischief and criminal mischief as a hate crime for vandalizing the home of Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak in June, NYPD Det. Gregory Green said in a statement.

Red paint was splattered on the front doors and windows of the home, and a sign was left hanging in the entrance filled with red handprints that read, “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White Supremacist Zionist,” CNN previously reported.

Red inverted triangles were also painted on the windows and doors – a symbol that has been used by the military wing of Hamas in the recent conflict in Gaza to indicate Israeli military targets, according to the Anti-Defamation League, and used in some cases to “signify support for violent Palestinian resistance against Israel.”

Separately, Pelton was arraigned Thursday on charges of criminal mischief and criminal mischief as a hate crime in Manhattan. Prosecutors accuse Pelton of driving into the borough with others in the hours after the Brooklyn attack and defacing the sidewalk with spray paint outside two other separate residences, according to a criminal complaint.

During the arraignment in Manhattan, Assistant District Attorney Alberto Gomez said Pelton, along with five others who have not been captured, “engaged in a targeted and systematic attack which spanned 3 hours, 2 boroughs, and targeting the homes of 4 board members of the Brooklyn Museum, causing damage exceeding $10,000.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Pelton and the group are accused of “vandalizing these homes and using an inverted red triangle.” Those symbols were also seen at the Brooklyn residence.

Pelton’s attorney, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, had no comment Friday on the charges her client is facing in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Pelton is on supervised release, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and is scheduled to be arraigned on October 30.

The Brooklyn Museum is aware of the criminal charges filed against the suspect, spokesperson Taylor Maatman told CNN Thursday, saying its “leadership believes it is crucial to distinguish between peaceful protest and criminal acts.”

“Our museum has a long history of supporting artists’ free expression and uplifting people through powerful art experiences,” Maatman said. “Our vision remains rooted in the belief that art fosters dialogue and mutual understanding among people with diverse experiences and perspectives.”

The United States has seen rising levels of antisemitic incidents since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, according to data from the ADL. The most recent data from the organization, which has tracked antisemitic incidents in the US since 1979, found a 140% increase in incidents from 2022 to 2023, with a “dramatic” increase taking place after October 7.

Pelton is next scheduled to appear on the Manhattan charges on September 23.

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