COLUMBUS – Columbus city prosecutors have filed multiple misdemeanor criminal charges against two individuals who allegedly vandalized the OSU Hillel Wexner Jewish Student Center in November, City Attorney Zack Klein said.
The defendants, whose names were not released, were charged with misdemeanor ethnic intimidation, theft, criminal trespass, and criminal mischief, penalties that could result in up to 180 days in jail and $2,000 in fines.
“Hate has no home in Columbus. As City Attorney, I drew a line in the sand on the kinds of hate and bias-fueled attacks directed toward Jewish and Muslim populations that have been on the rise nationwide,” Klein said.
According to court documents, the defendants entered the OSU Hillel Wexner Jewish Student Center building on November 7, vandalized Israeli flags and shouted anti-Israel threats.
The incident came amid a rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric and acts of violence in the wake of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
The vandalism at the Hillel center occurred around the same time that two university students reported being assaulted by two male suspects who yelled a derogatory term at them and asked them if they were Jewish, according to police.