By Shula Rosen
(unitedwithisrael.org) A 36-year-old East Haven, Conn., man has been arrested and charged after allegedly targeting visibly Jewish men in New Haven in what police described as an antisemitic incident, authorities said Monday.
The New Haven Police Department said Paul Smith, 36, was charged with second-degree intimidation due to bias and disorderly conduct. Police said his bond was set at $10,000.
According to investigators, the incident was reported on June 2 at approximately 4:30 p.m. after two people approached officers regarding an encounter that had taken place about 40 minutes earlier nearby.
Police said a 41-year-old New Haven man, a 24-year-old New Jersey man, and another individual who requested anonymity told officers they had been standing on a sidewalk talking when an unfamiliar man began shouting at them from roughly 20 feet away.
Authorities said the man directed remarks including “get out of my city,” “baby killers,” “go back to where you belong” and asked whether they liked “genocide.”
Police said the victims were visibly identifiable members of the Jewish community.
Investigators said the suspect continued yelling as he approached the group and allegedly smelled of alcohol.
The victims told police the man attempted to shove a fourth individual who tried to intervene, threw a rolled-up newspaper in their direction and knocked a yarmulke from one victim’s head, causing it to fall to the ground.
Police said the suspect then left the area.
The department’s Real Time Crime Unit reviewed surveillance footage that police said corroborated the accounts provided by the victims.
Detectives later identified Smith as the suspect through their investigation.
Authorities said the incident took place in New Haven’s downtown area and alleged that Smith approached the group aggressively before leaving the scene.
Police characterized the encounter as motivated by anti-Jewish bias and said the investigation remains active.
