In Hornell, New York, a tiny city in the stateâs southern region, three people have been detained after distributing leaflets with hate symbols at a Black church, a synagogue, and other locations. More than 100 counts of first-degree aggravated harassment have been brought against each.
According to a city news release, the inquiry was conducted on Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10, after police learned that flyers and stickers with swastikas and racist epithets had been distributed. In cooperation with the New York State Police, a search warrant was carried out, and Ryan Mulhollen, 27, Aubrey Dragonetti, 31, and Dylan Henry, all of the same residence, were all charged and taken into custody.
According to Hornell Police Chief T.J. Murrayâs statement to the local publication The Evening Tribune, âour investigation found that the three of them were working together to distribute this content.â âWe had some that appeared the day before in various places; two of them were on houses of worship in the Hornell neighborhood. Our patrol officers were on high alert the following night because of our fear, and they really stopped these people in the act.
A Black church and a synagogue were among the targets of white supremacist hate crimes in upstate NY this weekend â not far from Buffalo, where a white supremacist murdered 10 Black people just two months ago. https://t.co/EaPSjcfpA6
â Amy Spitalnick (@amyspitalnick) July 13, 2022
He said, âThe people were going around and attaching this material. They must have been attaching the material to community membersâ private property and putting it in their driveways and homes all through the night.
According to The Tribune, a brochure with the words âAryan National Armyâ was placed at Rehoboth Deliverance Ministries, a largely Black church. According to Marseena Harmonson, an assistant pastor who wasnât there at Rehoboth Deliverance Ministries on Sunday but was notified of what transpired, âThey brought it inside [the church] and showed everybody what was on the door.â Of course, that causes terror.
According to authorities, a similar flier was posted at the Temple Beth-El synagogue. The intent to harass, irritate, threaten, or alarm another person because of a belief or perception regarding that personâs race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, or religious practice, as well as their age, disability, or sexual orientation, is referred to as âaggravated harassment.â
3 arrested on 115 charges each after hate symbols are left at #Hornell, NY church, #synagogue https://t.co/49Cg7tPphv
â David K. (@redleader57) July 15, 2022
The majority of aggravated harassment charges are misdemeanors with a potential prison sentence of one to four years.
When Harmonson thought back on the arrests of the suspects, she said, âIâm glad, but they canât be the only ones.â
âDue to everything that has occurred over the past few months and years, particularly what occurred in Buffalo. People become frightened, she said. âAnd children, young people, and older folks donât know what to think when you have them. Many of them had never encountered anything similar.