NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — A Somerset County man is facing federal hate crime charges for allegedly vandalizing the Islamic student center at Rutgers-New Brunswick earlier this month.
Authorities say on April 10, around 3 a.m., Jacob Beacher, 24, broke into the center and damaged several religious artifacts, including Turbah prayer stones — clay stones on which Muslims lay during prayer — and multiple other items that contained holy language from the Quran.
He is also accused of stealing a Palestinian flag and charity box from the center and giving a false statement to authorities.
Beacher was arrested Monday morning and is being held for his first court appearance.
He was charged by complaint with one count of attempted obstruction of religious practice and one count of making false statements to federal authorities.