Brooklyn Man Faces Hate Crime Charges After Synagogue Defaced with Anti-Semitic Messages, Fires Set

A New York man was arrested and charged with hate crimes Friday night after anti-Semitic messages were found in a temple, police said.

James Polite, 26, faces multiple charges, including fourth-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime in connection with anti-Semitic remarks found at the temple and fires set at several locations in Brooklyn hours later.

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Polite was also charged with second-degree arson and second-degree reckless endangerment — both hate crimes — in connection with a fire set early Friday in the coat closet of a Yeshiva school on Hewes Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood and fires at six other nearby locations, the NYPD said.

James Polite

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A janitor at the Yeshiva school noticed the fire, which was likely set between 2 and 2:30 a.m., and called authorities, NYPD Sgt. Lee Jones said. Police apprehended Polite at the scene. He was taken to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn for a psychological evaluation, Jones said.

While Polite was at the hospital, police determined he was the same man wanted in connection with the anti-Semitic graffiti found at Union Temple, Jones said.

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Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she knows Polite. Polite had an internship with Quinn when she was on the council, according to The New York Times profile.

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The Times story said Polite worked for Quinn on initiatives to fight hate crimes, domestic violence and sexual assault. The article said Polite called his foster parents, Jenny Levison and Josh Waletzky, his second parents.

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Polite had been a volunteer for Barack Obama’s first presidential bid, registering voters and canvassing neighborhoods in New York, and met Quinn at a gay pride rally for Obama in 2008, the Times reported. An Obama spokesperson declined to comment on Sunday.

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