SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — A Brooklawn man will spend a year and a day in prison after he pleaded guilty to being a part of a hate group that planned to vandalize synagogues and other minority-owned properties.
Prosecutors said 20-year-old Richard Tobin encouraged hateful acts against Jewish and Black people at their places of worship and business via a white supremacy group called The Base.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Tobin admitted to being a part of the hate group and communicating online with other members from around the country, directing them to deface or destroy properties affiliated with Black and Jewish Americans, back in September 2019.
Tobin referred to this coordinated attack as Kristallnacht, known as the Night of Broken Glass. In 1938, Nazis in Eastern Europe vandalized and destroyed Jewish buildings and synagogues and killed Jews.
Prosecutors say Tobin urged people to break windows, slash tires and post propaganda flyers.
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On Sept. 21, 2019, following Tobin’s suggestion, according to prosecutors, members of The Base spraypainted synagogues in Wisconsin and Michigan with hate symbols.
One of the offenders previously pleaded guilty for his role in vandalizing the Wisconsin synagogue.
In addition to a year and a day in prison, Judge Robert Kugler also sentenced Tobin to three years of supervised release.