A Colorado man was indicted on hate crime fees after drawing swastikas and writing racial slurs in public areas round New York Metropolis, together with on the Charging Bull statue, prosecutors stated Wednesday.
James Ryan, 40, of Limon, Colorado, is accused of drawing a swastika on the gates to Metropolis Corridor and an anti-Black slur on a pillar Dec. 13, 2021, Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg stated.
The next day, Ryan allegedly spray-painted a big swastika and wrote one other anti-Black slur exterior a CVS Pharmacy on Fulton Road within the Monetary District. Hours later, he allegedly painted the identical image on the Charging Bull statue on Wall Road.
He was arrested Dec. 16, 2021, in accordance with a spokesperson for Bragg’s workplace.
“Hate has no place in New York Metropolis and these offensive and damaging actions won’t be tolerated,” Bragg stated in a press release. “As alleged, James Ryan put emblems of hate on a metropolis constructing and one in every of Manhattan’s most iconic symbols, the Wall Road Charging Bull.”
Ryan was charged with three counts of legal mischief as a hate crime, and three counts of aggravated harassment.
His lawyer stated they’re investigating the allegations made by prosecutors and requested that “members of the general public would reserve judgment and do not forget that Mr. Ryan is harmless till confirmed responsible past an affordable doubt to a jury of his friends.”
Bragg stated his workplace at the moment has 20 open hate crime circumstances associated to antisemitic crimes.
“My Workplace is a secure place to report crimes no matter your immigration standing,” he stated in his assertion.