Man charged with hate crime for vandalizing Islamic center at Rutgers, prosecutors say

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A man accused of vandalizing an Islamic center at New Jersey’s flagship university on the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr has been charged with a hate crime, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Jacob Beacher, 24, of North Plainfield, faces single counts of intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice and making false statements to federal authorities. He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Monday afternoon and was being represented by the federal public defender’s office, which does not comment on cases.

The charges stem from an April 10 break-in at the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Prosecutors said Beacher damaged property at the site, including several religious artifacts and numerous other items that contained holy language from the Quran, Islam’s sacred scripture. Authorities said Beacher also stole a Palestinian flag and a charity box belonging to the center.