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Manhattan Police Charge Larry Montes With Hate Crimes

8/15/2026

24 2 Full Breakdown

Summary

Larry Montes Attack

Police charged Larry Montes, 46, with hate crimes after he disrupted a Shabbat service at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on August 14, 2026.
Montes struck a 63-year-old woman, head-butted a guard, broke two $20,000 candles and left the woman with a cut lip.
He faces over a dozen counts, including two assault-as-a-hate-crime charges, and was condemned by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Governor Kathy Hochul.

Summary

Mamdani Threatens Arrest

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he entered New York City.
Wife Rama Duwaji was reported to have liked posts praising Hamas’s October 7 2023 massacre of 1,200 Jews.
Jewish leaders and rabbis met at City Hall urging Mamdani to tone down anti-Israel rhetoric.
Officials say Jews are 70% of hate crimes while only 10% of the population, linking the rise to Mamdani’s rhetoric.

History

Historical Context

After the three-day Crown Heights riot of August 19-21 1991, which exposed deep Black-Jewish tensions and prompted mayoral criticism, New York has repeatedly faced anti-Jewish attacks. The August 2026 assault on worshippers at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, leading Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul to file hate-crime charges, reflects that longstanding pattern of communal violence and municipal response.

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Larry Montes Attack

Police charged Larry Montes, 46, with hate crimes after he disrupted a Shabbat service at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on August 14, 2026.
Montes struck a 63-year-old woman, head-butted a guard, broke two $20,000 candles and left the woman with a cut lip.
He faces over a dozen counts, including two assault-as-a-hate-crime charges, and was condemned by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Governor Kathy Hochul.

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