By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-08 22:15:57 | Updated at 2026-08-08 22:59:53
1 hour ago
A Florida man charged with a hate crime for hurling a brick through a synagogue window was motivated by a video of Mayor Zohran Mamdani calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” his police interview suggests.
Sarasota resident Brayton Laschinger, 30, admitted he targeted the Chabad House on July 29 and told detectives he became enraged by “propaganda on social media that was making him mad,” the Sarasota Police Department said.
“Laschinger admitted to deliberately throwing the brick at the window of the synagogue because it was a Jewish temple,” Sarasota Police Department Detective Frank Castro wrote in the probable cause affidavit dated July 30.
“He stated he was anti-Israel,” Castro added.
The only political content found on his public Instagram account was Mamdani’s July 21 video labeling Netanyahu with the “war criminal” moniker.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” New York’s socialist mayor said in a video address that repeats unproven, pro-Hamas talking points.
“He is responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children … for the targeting of neonatal hospitals and maternity care centers.”
In the controversial video, Mamdani admitted “it was clear we didn’t have the independent legal authority” to make good on his campaign promise to arrest Netanyahu when he comes to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Laschinger reposted the reel on his Instagram page sometime between July 23 and July 29, interspersed with pictures of panthers, monkeys, birds and other wildlife, his account shows.
When he came across a video of Netanyahu speaking out about the Armenian genocide, while refusing to acknowledge the one against the Palestinian people, that was the final straw, according to the affidavit.
“He wanted to fight back,” Castro wrote.
Laschinger, a line cook originally from Indiana who studied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before moving to Florida, is facing a felony charge of criminal mischief of a religious building as a hate crime.
He has a prior criminal record for marijuana possession and driving under the influence in the Tar Heel State, according to public records.
In surveillance footage captured outside of the synagogue, Laschinger is seen barefoot, with a blue towel covering his head and face, throwing a brick he picked up from a yard as he walked towards the place of worship around 6 a.m., according to police.
He allegedly fled the area after breaking the window, and his roommate later identified him to police.
He posted bond, which was set at $2,500, and is out pending his arraignment on Aug. 28.
