Teens in 2 states arrested over threat that shuttered Houston synagogue
The plot involved driving through Congregation Beth Israel to “kill as many Jews as possible,” police said
Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, North Carolina, was being held Thursday in the Davidson County jail. Courtesy of Davidson County Sheriff’s Office
(JTA) — Two teenagers were arrested this week for an alleged plot to drive through a Houston synagogue and “kill as many Jews as possible,” according to local authorities.
Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, North Carolina, was arrested at her home on Wednesday and charged with conspiring with two other individuals to commit an attack on Congregation Beth Israel, the oldest Jewish house of worship in Texas, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. She is being held in the Davidson County jail under a $10 million bond.
In Houston, a 16-year-old boy was also arrested in relation to “a threat directed towards certain Jewish institutions in our area.” It was unclear whether the second arrest was connected to Hicks, but the judge who ordered Hicks detained said she should be prevented from communicating with unnamed co-conspirators.
“At this time, there is no other known credible threat,” the Houston Police Department said in a statement.
Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue, and the Shlenker School, a preschool and elementary school that shares its campus, closed following the threats on Wednesday.
District Court Judge Carlton Terry said the alleged conspiracy was “to kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue.” He said Hicks should remain in custody after her arraignment.
“Allowing a co-conspirator a chance to communicate with either of those individuals or those who could relay a message puts lives at risk,” Terry wrote.
The arrests come one month after a man drove a fireworks-laden truck into Temple Israel in suburban Detroit. The attack, which left the assailant dead, also followed an arson attack on Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, that left the synagogue’s library destroyed.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston announced on Wednesday that it would go forward with events that were planned to mark Israeli Independence Day despite the reported threats.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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