Arrests Made in Weston Anti-Semitic and Racist Incidents

The Broward Sheriff's Office has arrested three teenagers in connection with a rash of anti-Semitic and racist vandalism in Weston, capping off a month-long investigation into crimes that left the community's Jewish residents on edge.

During a press conference held this afternoon, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said that his agency had arrested three 16-year-old Weston residents on criminal mischief and felony burglary charges after they confessed to vandalizing a residential neighborhood with anti-Semitic and racist slurs. Two of the teenagers received hate crime enhancements to their charges. 

While Tony declined to divulge the names of the suspects, given that they're minors, he promised to investigate and charge anyone who terrorizes the community, regardless of their age.

"Anytime there's a threat towards our school, or any component in this community, we're going to investigate thoroughly and charge you accordingly," Tony said. "I can care less if you are 14,15, 16, 38, or 75."

The arrests come nearly two months after the first incident on October 5, in which residents of the Weston Hills neighborhood in the City of Weston awoke on the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur to find anti-Semitic and racial slurs in graffiti. Scrawled across sidewalks and bathrooms in the manicured neighborhood in Broward County's westernmost city were large swastikas and the phrase "kill Jews."

Weeks later, on October 25, bigoted messages again showed up around the bathrooms.

Then, on October 30, it happened again, when nearly identical graffiti was found on entrance signs and around a children's playground in the Hunters Pointe subdivision of the same neighborhood.

Following the most recent incident, Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, which was raised to $15,000 after the homeowners association pitched in. A truck with a bright, LED screen advertising the Crime Stoppers reward could be seen on many days driving around the neighborhood.

Tony said he doesn't believe the arrests were a result of a Crime Stoppers tip. Instead, he attributes the success of the Broward Sheriff's Office investigation in part to "old-school surveillance," what he describes as officers "hunkered down" in parts of the community.

According to the sheriff, the teenagers expressed a sense of remorse for the incidents to investigators, and  said that the vandalism was supposed to be "a joke."

The incidents come amid an increase in anti-Semitism across the country. Florida, in particular, has seen an "alarming rise" in extremist activity driven by online misinformation and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, according to a report released in September by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

According to the report, "Hate in the Sunshine State: Extremism and Antisemitism in Florida," the number of anti-Semitic incidents documented by the ADL in Florida rose to 190 in 2021, a 50 percent year-over-year increase.