Minnesota Student Arrested For Drawing Swastika In Dorm
(JTA)– A University of Minnesota student was arrested for allegedly vandalizing a dormitory with anti-Semitic graffiti.
The student, 18, was arrested on Thursday. He allegedly drew a swastika on a desk in a public area of the residence hall in which he lives. University officials have called the incident a “bias crime,” the Minnesota Star-Tribune reported.
The student was identified as Matthew Gruber of St. Cloud, Minnesota. He was released from custody and has not yet been formally charged, the local CBS affiliate WCCO reported. He reportedly will be charged with criminal damage to property with bias.
The dormitory swastika incident, which was reported to police on Feb. 7, is one of at least seven cases of anti-Semitic graffiti or propaganda reported since December.
On Friday, a flier bearing two swastikas was taped to a pole on campus. The flier advertised the neo-Nazi website, The Daily Stormer.
The flier read: “White man are you sick and tired of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneration … join us in the struggle for global white supremacy at the Daily Stormer.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
