Michigan Man Vandalized Synagogue With Swastikas: Authorities

HANCOCK, MI — A northern Michigan man is charged after he defaced a synagogue with spray-painted swastikas in 2019, according to authorities.

Nathan Weeden, 23, of Houghton, vandalized Temple Jacob in Hancock with swastikas and symbols associated with The Base, a multi-state white supremacist group to which Weeden belonged, authorities said.

Weeden, along with Richard Tobin of New Jersey and Yousef Barasneh of Wisconsin, used an encrypted messaging platform in September 2019 to discuss vandalizing property associated with African Americans and Jewish Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

They called their plan “Operation Kristallnacht” in reference to the events of Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazis murdered Jewish people and destroyed their homes, synagogues, schools and businesses, authorities said, adding Weeden carried out the scheme Sept. 21, 2019.

Weeden was arrested Thursday and has been indicted, according to authorities. He is charged with conspiracy against rights and damage to religious property, authorities said, noting he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge and as much as one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for the charge of property damage.