Man Charged With Federal Hate Crime In Rutgers Islamic Student Center Vandalism

A man was charged Monday with a federal hate crime following the vandalism and burglary of an Islamic student center at Rutgers University earlier this month.

Jacob Beacher has been arrested and is in federal custody, according to an email to the Rutgers community from Kenneth Cop, the chief of the Rutgers University Police Department. HuffPost obtained the email Monday, and Megan Schumann, a spokesperson for Rutgers, subsequently confirmed the arrest and shared additional information. Beacher’s initial appearance before a federal judge was scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

The vandalism occurred in the early morning hours of April 10 on Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and included a break-in and smashed religious objects.

Beacher has been federally charged with two counts: damage to religious property and making fraudulent statements. Cop’s email said state charges were pending and that the investigation was active.

Beacher caused an estimated $40,000 of damage, including the destruction of Turbah prayer stones and items containing language from the Quran, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit, which was included in the federal complaint. The agent said surveillance footage showed Beacher walking toward the student center, which is known as CILRU, and alleged that he broke a window to unlock a deadbolt and get inside the building.

Two days after the vandalism incident, Beacher agreed to speak with law enforcement, according to the affidavit. After acknowledging that surveillance footage showed him near the student center, he allegedly lied about his involvement in the break-in.

Kaiser Aslam, the