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Larry Montes, 46, from the Bronx, was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime after disrupting Shabbat services at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue and assaulting security personnel.
Hate crime charges have been filed against Larry Montes, 46, after police said he disrupted Shabbat services at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue on Friday night and struck two people while being escorted outside. Montes, of the Bronx, faces two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, among other charges.
New York City recorded 205 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the first seven months of 2026, an 8.5% increase from 189 during the same period in 2025, New York Police Department officials said Monday. The increase comes amid heightened levels of antisemitism around the world since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.
New York police arrested a suspect Thursday after two men were stabbed in separate attacks on the Upper West Side, and the incidents are being evaluated as possible hate crimes, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. One victim is a 57-year-old Asian man and the other is a 50-year-old Jewish man, police said. Both are expected to survive.