Laschinger reposted a controversial social media video featuring New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticizing Israel.
By Shula Rosen
A 30-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with an antisemitic hate crime after police said he threw a brick through the window of a Chabad synagogue in Sarasota because it was a Jewish place of worship. He told investigators he had become angry over “propaganda” he saw on social media.
Brad Laschinger, identified elsewhere as Brayton Laschinger, allegedly targeted the Lubavitch Chabad of Downtown Sarasota, also referred to as Chabad of Downtown SRQ, at about 6 a.m.
Surveillance footage showed Laschinger approaching the synagogue with a blue towel covering his head and face, police said.
He then allegedly took a brick from a nearby yard and repeatedly struck the synagogue’s front window, causing more than $5,000 in damage.
Laschinger’s roommate later identified him from the surveillance footage.
Police said Laschinger admitted targeting the synagogue “because it was a Jewish place of worship.” He also told detectives that he had seen “propaganda” on social media that morning that angered him.
Authorities noted that before the attack, Laschinger had reposted a controversial social media video from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Laschinger was charged with felony criminal mischief of a religious building with a hate-crime enhancement. The investigation remains active.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt sharply criticized Mamdani following the arrest, pointing to Laschinger’s reposting of the mayor’s video and arguing that inflammatory political rhetoric can have consequences for Jewish communities.
Greenblatt rebuked the mayor for what he described as rhetoric that fuels hostility toward Jews and warned about its potential real-world consequences.
The case drew attention to the suspect’s social media activity after police said Laschinger himself linked his anger on the morning of the vandalism to content he had viewed online.
Law enforcement identified the synagogue’s Jewish identity as central to the alleged offense, with Laschinger acknowledging that he deliberately selected a Jewish house of worship.
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