[IsraelTimes] Term is twice the federal sentencing guideline; prosecutors asked judge to consider ’tremendous damage’ it caused, and his ’deep-seated hatred’ of Jewish people
Another dangerous person on the autistic spectrum. Did he develop the hatred of Jews from wandering the internet, was he groomed, or did he do this for hire, as some others have been revealed to have done? A man who pleaded guilty to setting fire to a synagogue in Austin, Texas, in 2021 was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison. The sentencing of Franklin Sechriest came after a series of victim impact statements from members of Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue. Normal federal sentencing guidelines call for a five-year prison term, but prosecutors asked US District Judge David Ezra to sentence Sechriest to 10 years due to what they said was the "tremendous damage" he caused and his "deep-seated hatred of persons of the Jewish faith."
Sechriest pleaded guilty in April to two federal charges, including the destruction of religious property, which is classified as a hate crime. He admitted to setting a fire in October 2021 that damaged the sanctuary’s historic front doors and stained glass windows, causing around $250,000 worth of damage.
Investigators found antisemitic and racist material as well as bomb-making supplies in his car, and journals filled with hate speech in which he had written, "I set a synagogue on fire."
A member of the Texas State Guard and a student at Texas State University, Sechriest was ordered to pay $470,000 in restitution to Congregation Beth Israel, and to serve an additional three years of supervised release once he gets out of prison, the US Department of Justice said in a news release.
Cohen said the sentencing carried extra weight coming amid a charged national climate around antisemitism. Law enforcement and Jewish groups have reported a rise in antisemitic incidents, and multiple Jewish institutions have been targeted by vandalism, bomb threats, and other criminal behavior in the wake of Hamas
 ...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
’s devastating October 7 attack in Israel and Israel’s subsequent war against the terror group in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
"Across the country right now, all Jewish communities are on heightened alert due to rising antisemitism," Cohen said, adding that the congregation had received a robocall from the Ku Klux Klan mere weeks ago. "Everyone feels the anxiety and questions whether hate can come to our doorstep."
The fire came amid a spate of antisemitic incidents in Austin organized by the Goyim Defense League, a white supremacist group that holds antisemitic rallies and distributes literature promoting hatred of Jews. The group, which the Anti-Defamation League said was responsible for nearly 500 antisemitic incidents in 2022, had hung a banner reading "Vax the Jews" from an Austin bridge in the days before the synagogue fire and streamed a swastika-burning event shortly afterwards. The group’s founder told the Daily Beast that Sechriest was not associated with the Goyim Defense League.
Security footage showed Sechriest’s jeep at the synagogue just before the blaze started, Sherlocks said. He was seen carrying a 5-gallon (19-liter) container and toilet paper toward the sanctuary doors, and running away from the fire.
Sechriest later acknowledged that he targeted the synagogue because of his hatred of Jews, Sherlocks said.
Daniel Wannamaker, Sechriest’s attorney, told JTA that his client had already spent two years in county jail and would get credit for that time. Sechriest has waived his right to an appeal.
"It’s a tough case because it’s a heinous crime," Wannamaker said, adding that he believed Sechriest, who has autism, had been influenced by a hate group online.
In court filings asking for a delay in the hearing, Wannamaker had said that his client suffers from "several mental and emotional conditions" and would need more time to process the significance of his sentencing. The judge denied his request.
"He’s on the spectrum and he just kind of fell into the trap of finding people on the Internet who I think just took advantage of his condition," the attorney told JTA. "They groomed him and had him commit these acts.
Oh? Who are the groomers, when they’re at home? Will he turn state’s evidence and help bring them to justice? But he’s guilty, he accepted his responsibility, and now we just want him to get help, which he should be able to get in a federal facility that deals with mental health issues."
Not much help, but at least he’ll be separated from his erstwhile groomers. 
|
