A man pleaded guilty Thursday to committing a series of assaults, motivated by bias, against members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood, New Jersey, according to the DOJ.
Dion Marsh pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including one count of carjacking and five counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. The 29-year-old was also charged with willfully causing bodily injury to five victims and attempting to kill and injure four of the victims with dangerous weapons, “because they are Jewish,” the press release noted.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act entails “(1) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin of any person or (2) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person and the crime affected interstate or foreign commerce or occurred within federal special maritime and territorial jurisdiction,” according to the DOJ.
“This defendant violently attacked five men, driving a car into four of them, stabbing one of them in the chest, and attempting to kill them, simply because they were visibly identifiable as Orthodox Jews,” Philip R. Sellinger, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said in the press release. (RELATED: Plow Drivers Laugh While Blasting Two Orthodox Jewish Men With Snow, Police Investigating As Hate Crime).
“Today, he pleaded guilty to these hate crimes and a carjacking, and my office will ask the judge to impose a sentence that holds Marsh accountable for his brutal and hate filled rampage,” Sellinger added. “The threat from hate-fueled violence is a sad reality across our state and our nation. That hate is not who we are. We are stronger as a people because no matter what you look like, how you worship, where you come from, or who you love, your civil rights must be respected and protected.”
“Each of Marsh’s victims was attired in traditional garments worn by members of the Orthodox Jewish community and was assaulted because they were visibly identifiable as Orthodox Jews,” according to the DOJ.
Marsh said he specifically targeted all of his victims because he believed they were of the Orthodox Jewish faith.
— Asbury Park Press (@AsburyParkPress) January 24, 2024
The assaults began on April 8, 2022, when Marsh allegedly forced an Orthodox Jewish man out of his car before assaulting him and stealing his car. Later that day, Marsh allegedly continued on a rampage, using the same car to strike two victims in an attempt to kill them after using a different vehicle to attempt to kill another man, the press release noted.
Marsh is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on June 11, the press release noted.
There has been an increase in antisemitic attacks since the Israel-Palestine conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023. Antisemitic incidents in New York City increased by 331% in the month of Oct., according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
In December, a man was arrested for allegedly screaming “Gas the Jews” outside of a synagogue in Washington, D.C., while he was spraying a foul-smelling gas on people outside the building, according to an NBC report. Also, multiple universities have had issues of antisemitism allegations, including Northwestern University and Harvard University.