NEW JERSEY
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty Friday to his role in conspiring with members of a white supremacist hate group, “The Base,” to threaten and intimidate African Americans and Jewish Americans, officials stated.
They conspired to vandalize minority-owned properties throughout the country in September 2019.
Richard Tobin, 19, of Brooklawn, plead guilty to an information charging him with conspiracy against rights.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert B. Kugler scheduled sentencing for June 28.
Tobin is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted of these crimes, officials state.
“Conspiring with others to vandalize and destroy property owned by African-Americans and Jewish Americans will not be tolerated by the Department of Justice,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pam Karlan of the Civil Rights Division.
According to NBC News 10 Philadelphia, “Tobin also told FBI agents that he was “triggered by the state of the country” and recounted a time when he became enraged at seeing large crowds of Black people at a mall in Edison, New Jersey.”
“Americans should never have to fear racist, anti-Semitic or any other form of bias-motivated violence,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig for the District of New Jersey. “This defendant encouraged hateful acts of violence against individuals and their houses of worship, based solely on their religion or the color of their skin.”
“The FBI and our partners simply won’t tolerate crimes spurred by hate, which are meant to intimidate and isolate the groups targeted,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities.”
According to court documents, Tobin admitted that from Sept. 15 to Sept. 23, 2019, he was a member of a white supremacist group, “The Base.”
During that time, he communicated online with other members and directed them to destroy and vandalize properties affiliated with African Americans and Jewish Americans.
Tobin dubbed this coordinated attack “Kristallnacht,” or “Night of Broken Glass,” after an attack in Germany on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, in which Nazis murdered Jewish people and burned and destroyed Jewish homes, synagogues, stores and schools.
Tobin implored members of The Base to post propaganda flyers and to break windows and slash tires belonging to African Americans and Jewish Americans.
On Sept. 21, 2019, members of The Base vandalized synagogues in Racine, Wisconsin, and Hancock, Michigan, by spray painting them with hate symbols.
A conspirator, Yousef Omar Barasneh, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, for his role in vandalizing the synagogue in Racine, Wisconsin.