NEW YORK — A suspect who allegedly disrupted a Shabbat service at New York City’s Central Synagogue both insulted Jews and “identified as Jewish,” according to a federal criminal complaint released on Tuesday.
Larry Montes, 46, from the Bronx, was charged with hate crimes in a New York City court last week. Tuesday’s complaint added federal hate crime charges against Montes and provided more detail about the incident, but also raised questions about the suspect.
The complaint, filed by an FBI agent investigating the case, said that Montes had been seated in the synagogue’s sanctuary for the Friday night service.
Around nine minutes after the service began, he stood up and began shouting, “You know who the fuck I am,” the complaint said.
He approached the synagogue’s bimah, or stage, and knocked over two ceremonial candlesticks, causing damage.
