Hate crime charges filed in Manhattan synagogue attack

NEW YORK (AP) — Hate crime charges have been filed against a man who disrupted Shabbat services in Manhattan’s Central Synagogue and struck two people while being hustled outside Friday night.

“As synagogue security was escorting him out, he struck a member of the congregation, damaged synagogue property, and then spit at and head-butted a member of the security team,” a statement from Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

A police sergeant working as a paid security detail at the synagogue immediately took the man into custody and no one was seriously injured, Tisch said.

Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, faces two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, among other charges, Tisch said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the assault during the livestreamed service “horrifying.”

“Every New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence,” he posted on social media.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer were among those who also condemned the attack.

Additional police security was added and Shabbat services continued Saturday.

“We might want to be focusing on the beauty of our liturgy and the sanctity of Shabbat, and somehow the feeling of the imperfect and cruel world keeps flooding in,” Rabbi Rebecca Thau told congregants.