Sixteen-year-old student arrested and charged with hate crime for “antisemitic writings” in Illinois
A sixteen-year-old student at Illinois’ Springfield High School has reportedly been arrested and charged with a hate crime for antisemitic writings.
The male student was arrested by the school resource officer on Wednesday at Springfield High School and was also charged with disorderly conduct involving threats to a school and criminal defacement of property.
The student had a hearing on Monday and is being detained at Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. Officials are waiting for the results of the student’s psychological assessment.
In response to the incident, a statement released by the Jewish Federation of Springfield said: “The Jewish community here in Springfield, like Jewish communities everywhere, deplores any manifestation or expression of antisemitism. Hostility to Jews as a group, negative stereotyping of Jews, and scapegoating of Jews as responsible for the various ills of society have a long and unfortunate history and have had very sad and tragic consequences over the course of Jewish history.
“We regard any expression of antisemitism, racism, or hate directed against any group in our community with deep concern and remain vigilant about the implicit threat not only to ourselves and to other communities that might be targeted, but also to the fabric of a diverse, pluralistic and democratic society.”
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