Suspect Charged With Hate Crime In Loop Synagogue Vandalism

(CBS) – A 31-year-old man has been charged in the vandalism of a Loop synagogue over the weekend in which swastikas were posted on the temple and some of its windows were broken.

Stuart Wright is charged with one felony count of a hate crime against a place of worship and one felony count of criminal damage to a school, Chicago Police said Wednesday.

He allegedly is behind the vandalism that occurred at Chicago Loop Synagogue early Saturday. A suspect was seen on surveillance video placing anti-Semitic stickers on the synagogue and striking glass windows, breaking them.

Wright was arrested Tuesday in the 2100 block of South Loomis, police said. He is expected to be in bond court Thursday morning.

"This act of anti-Semitism was meant to threaten the community, but it brought together the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities with a renewed purpose to stand together against such hate," AJC Chicago Director Amy Stoken said in response to the arrest. "Our community has been heartened by the overwhelming show of solidarity and we will continue to stand together with the understanding that no one community is safe unless all communities are safe."