New Jersey Man Charged with Hate Crimes for Breaking into Rutgers Islamic Center

by Aysha Qamar

A New Jersey man charged with breaking into the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University (CILRU) in New Brunswick and vandalizing religious artifacts pleaded guilty to committing a federal hate crime, federal prosecutors announced Oct. 10.

Jacob Beacher, 24, of North Plainfield, N.J., now faces up to three years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 11. He pleaded guilty Oct. 9 to damaging religious property. Officials said damages totaled to an estimate of $19,000.

Beacher was initially charged in April with single counts of intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice and making false statements to federal authorities.

Speaking with the FBI two days after the break-in, Beacher said he was the person seen near the center in video surveillance footage but denied breaking into the site.

According to the Department of Justice, the charges stemmed from an April 10 break-in, on Eid al-Fitr, during which Beacher forcibly entered the center through its back door and damaged several religious artifacts, stole a Palestinian flag and a charity box belonging to the center.

“This defendant is being held accountable for Islamophobic-fueled acts of hate, interfering with the religious freedom of university students and staff during a sacred holiday for those of the Islamic faith,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release announcing the charges.

“Islamophobic hate crimes have no place in our society today. We will continue to enforce the laws that make it safe for people of all faiths to engage in religious observance, including at educational institutions.”

According to The Associated Press, the incident came a few weeks after the state attorney general’s office reported a recent spike in bias incidents in New Jersey.