3 Charged With Hate Crimes For Defacing Homes Of Brooklyn Museum Execs

BROOKLYN, NY — Three New Yorkers have been accused of antisemitic hate crimes for vandalizing the homes of three Brooklyn Museum executives, particularly those with "Jewish-sounding" last names, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said on Monday.

The three defendants named in a 25-count indictment are Taylor Pelton, 28, Samuel Seligson, 32, and Gabriel Schubiner, 36, Gonzalez said.

The defendants are suspected of vandalizing the homes of three different Brooklyn Museum executives, painting them with several red inverted triangles, which have been identified as a symbol used by Hamas to mark Israeli military targets, the district attorney said.

In addition to the inverted triangles, the district attorney also said the defendants are accused of writing “Brooklyn Museum, blood on your hands” and other similar sentiments on banners, which they hung on board members' homes, referencing the Israel-Hamas war that started in October 2023.

At the home of Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak, the group is accused of hanging a banner that read, “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White-Supremacist Zionist,” Gonzalez said.

The two Brooklyn Museum board members with non-Jewish-sounding last names were not targeted, and the three targeted homes are in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Lenox Hill in Manhattan, Gonzalez said.

"Acts of vandalism that target individuals in their own homes are a deeply disturbing violation meant to intimidate, terrorize, and instill fear," Gonzalez said.

"These defendants allegedly targeted museum board members with threats and anti-Semitic graffiti based on their perceived heritage. These actions are not protests; they are hate crimes, and we are deeply committed to holding accountable anyone who uses such unlawful tactics in Brooklyn.”

The charges in the indictment include making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, making a terroristic threat, third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime, third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief, making graffiti, possession of graffiti instruments, and fifth-degree conspiracy.

Schubiner was arraigned on Monday before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun and released without bail. Seligson and Pelton are expected to be arraigned next week, Gonzalez said.

This is a developing story and may be updated.