A North Plainfield man was arrested by the FBI and charged with a hate crime for allegedly vandalizing the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers earlier this month, federal and state officials announced Monday.
Surveillance video led investigators to Jacob Beacher, 24, authorities said. He is not affiliated with Rutgers University, campus officials said.
Beacher broke into the center on College Avenue in New Brunswick on April 10, causing an estimated $40,000 in damage in the early morning hours of the day when Muslims celebrate Eid, the end of Ramadan fasting, according toa criminal complaint filed Sunday by the FBI.
A Palestinian flag was stolen and religious artifacts were damaged during the break-in, the complaint said.
Authorities did not say what Beacher’s alleged motive was for the vandalism.
Beacher was expected in court Monday afternoon. His federal public defender, Patrick McMahon, did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
Beacher is charged with one count of making false statements to federal authorities and one count of intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice, which is a hate crime, federal officials said. Additional charges are possible in state court.
In an interview with the FBI in North Plainfield two days after the vandalism, Beacher said he was the person in video footage from a business near the Islamic center and surveillance video near the university’s student center, according to the criminal complaint. But, he denied breaking into the Islamic center.
His cell phone signal was also picked up in a park where a cash box from the Islamic center had been discarded, the complaint said.
“We applaud and appreciate the efforts of federal and state law enforcement, who have been diligently investigating,” officials with the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers said in a press release Monday, adding that they were “humbled by the amazing and generous outpouring” from the community after the break-in.
“This act of terror will not intimidate or break our community,” Islamic center officials said.
Rutgers officials condemned the vandalism.
“Rutgers condemns this act of violence against the Rutgers–New Brunswick Muslim community and the desecration of a religious and community space. Such acts of hatred and bigotry against anyone in our community have no place at Rutgers,” university officials said in a statement.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for better protection for the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers and Muslim students.
“The CILRU has been a leading voice in advocating for Muslim students on campus and has expressed unequivocal support for Palestine actions and advocacy at Rutgers University,” said Dina Sayedahmed, a spokeswoman for CAIR-NJ. “University administrators must act with urgency to protect Muslim, Palestinian, and allied students, and until they do so, they are putting these students in direct harm’s way.”
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Tina Kelley may be reached at tkelley@njadvancemedia.com.
