A teenage anti-Israel activist who police say defaced a World War I monument in New York City earlier this week was arrested and charged Thursday night after his father confronted police, the NYPD said. did.
A 16-year-old boy is accused of defacing the 107th U.S. Infantry Memorial along Central Park on the Upper East Side by spray-painting “Gaza” in red across the base of the building. .
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted an image to X (formerly Twitter) last night of a young vandal sitting handcuffed on a bench inside a police station. His face is blurred.
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A teenage anti-Israel activist who police say defaced a World War I monument in New York City earlier this week was arrested and charged after being handed over to his father Thursday night, police said. . (Fox News Digital, NYPD)
On Monday, Daughtry also posted an image of a boy caught in the act of vandalizing the monument. This monument depicts the seven American soldiers who fought their way through the Hindenburg Line, the last and strongest German defense line, in September 1918. .
“The despicable vandalism witnessed at the World War I Memorial earlier this week will not go unheeded and will not go unpunished,” Daughtry wrote, condemning the hateful act.
“Thanks to the world’s best detectives, one of the perpetrators was handcuffed today. This is more than just a juvenile hijinx. It is an act of sacrilege that undermines the freedoms that our heroes fought for and risked their lives for. If you have any information, please call 800-577-TIPS or DM @NYPDTIPS.
Police said the boy was charged with two counts of third-degree criminal mischief, a felony, and two counts of graffiti, a Class A misdemeanor.
The suspect frequently attends rallies organized by the anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime and attends Tottenville High School, the New York Post reported, citing police sources. . He has no prior arrest record.
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Anti-Israel demonstrators burned an American flag on the site of a World War I memorial. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
Anti-Israel protests were underway Monday in areas near Hunter College and the star-studded Met Gala, with demonstrators pasting pro-Palestinian stickers on monuments, spray-painting “Free Gaza” and holding American flags at the scene. burned.
Video footage posted online shows a group of anti-Israel supporters planting flags on statues and using spray paint to defend Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Officials noted that the monument is different from many other monuments that typically honor military dignitaries.
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Anti-Israel demonstrators vandalized a World War I monument in Central Park depicting the U.S. 107th Infantry in combat. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
“this is [monument] To the Doughboys,” Zachary Iscol, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, said after the incident, referring to the nickname for a unit of the American Expeditionary Forces led by Army Gen. John Pershing.
Elsewhere on Monday night, protesters raised a Palestinian flag on a statue honoring Union General William Tecumseh Sherman near Central Park. NYPD officers arrived to stop the crowd, and officers climbed ladders to clear the crowd.
The monument was also defaced with spray paint.
FOX News’ Luis Casiano contributed to this report.
