US charges NY man with hate crimes over Columbia protests

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice charged a New York antheral with national hatred crimes successful an indictment unsealed connected Wednesday, accusing him of assaulting Jewish victims, including 2 Columbia University students, during 3 abstracted protests implicit the warfare successful Gaza.

The DOJ said that Tarek Bazrouk, 20, "deliberately targeted and assaulted Jewish victims astatine protests relating to the Israel/Gaza war." Bazrouk was arrested connected Wednesday morning.

Bazrouk's lawsuit appears to beryllium the archetypal clip the DOJ has brought national hatred transgression charges related to the caller Columbia protests. A DOJ spokesperson could not corroborate that information.

The assaults allegedly each took spot successful Manhattan, astatine an April 2024 protestation extracurricular the New York Stock Exchange, a December 2024 protestation extracurricular Columbia University, and a January 2025 protestation adjacent Gramercy Park.

Bazrouk allegedly punched 2 of the Jewish victims successful the look and kicked different successful the stomach, according to tribunal documents filed connected Wednesday. Bazrouk besides stole an Israeli emblem from pro-Israel protesters astatine the Columbia University protest, according to the Justice Department.

The DOJ said that Bazrouk showed enactment for Hamas and called himself a "Jew hater" successful substance messages obtained from a hunt of his compartment phone.

Bazrouk is charged with 3 counts of committing hatred crimes, each of which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years successful prison, according to DOJ.

An lawyer for Bazrouk could not instantly beryllium reached for comment.

(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth successful New York; Editing by Leigh Jones and Leslie Adler)