Suspect Charged In Swastika Attack On Northern Virginia Jewish Center

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Police in Fairfax, Va. have arrested and charged a suspect for spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti on the city’s Jewish Community Center and a nearby church.
On Wednesday, police arrested Dylan M. Mahone, 20, at his home, based on surveillance video of the incidents, which occurred Tuesday, according to a statement by the Fairfax County Police Dept. He is also accused of posting anti-Semitic flyers on campus at the Northern Virginia Community College in March.
On Tuesday, “Hitler was right,” swastikas and the “SS” symbol were found spray-painted on the exterior of the JCC building.
Jeff Dannick, the JCC’s director general, said earlier this week that it was upsetting to have his community targeted on Passover but that the holiday held relevant lessons.
“We retell that story generation to generation every year so that we never forget,” he told the Washington Post Tuesday. “It’s a painful reminder of how ugly and dangerous the world can be, but also how we can overcome it.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
