A New York man has been charged with federal hate crimes in three attacks during demonstrations against the Gaza war, according to an indictment released Wednesday.
The man, 20-year-old Tarek Bazrouk, was arrested in three protests in Manhattan, about nine months after kicking Jewish protesters wearing religious costumes or carrying Israeli flags.
“Despite being arrested after each incident, Bazrook is allegedly not avoided and has quickly resumed the New York City Interim Attorney Jay Clayton said in a press release on Wednesday, Jay Clayton, interim prosecutor of the Southern New York Region, said in a press release on Wednesday.
Mr Clayton said his office is “committed to seeking justice for victims of hate crimes and will actively prosecute those who spread paranoia and discrimination through violence.”
Mr. Bazrook was charged with three hate crime counts, with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each offense. It is not clear whether he has a lawyer.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Bazrook was arrested in April 2024 at a protest outside the New York Stock Exchange, after a group of pro-Israeli protesters “slammed” and then kicked a protester into the stomach when he was taken to a police car.
Prosecutors said he was again arrested in December during a protest in Manhattan where he beat a Jewish student who was worn on the Israeli flag and stole another flag from the student's brother. Prosecutors said Mr. Bazrook was arrested for the third time in January.
In a press release, Christopher G. Raia, assistant director of the FBI's New York field office, accused Mr. Bazrock of “demonstrating a model of supporting anti-Semitism terrorist organizations.” After being arrested, searching his cell phone revealed propaganda and text messages from his loved ones, prosecutors said he identified himself as a “Jewish hater.” The two-page prosecution did not resolve the allegations.
The allegations come as the Trump administration’s positive stance on pro-Palestinian demonstrations accusing them of anti-Semitism and seeking to expel some protesters.
Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi are both active in the Columbia University protests. Mr. Mahdawi was released last week; Mr. Harrier and Ms. Oztuk remained in federal custody in Louisiana.
New York City protests about the Gaza War once happened almost every day and became less frequent. Dozens of people were detained by police for hours after pro-Palestine protesters occupied part of Colombia's main library to reignite the movement that swept the campus last spring.
